Life and Fibromyalgia

Friday 2-10

2012-02-10T18:32:00.000-08:00

It has been an interesting day. First, I met up with my dear friend, Maggie for lunch. We went to the Olive Garden, one of my favorite restaurants. Their soup and salad is awesome. We had such a good time chatting away. I haven't really had a chance to catch up with her in several months. She is just so busy at work. Maggie has a new work schedule now so we are planning to meet up once a month. We are going to have our own little book club so I get to go and pick out the next book we will read. I am thinking of the latest Kristin Hannah book as I love her books a lot. The only book of hers that was really hard to read was the one before this one called, "Night Road". It is about teenage drinking and driving and the worse thing that can happen to a family and community. I think it really makes a person think about choices we make everyday and how one bad choice can virtually ruin your life and others. The young person in the book was the least drunk out of the 3 teenagers (2 of who by the way, were only 1 mile from home) and they get in a really bad accident. It is a book I will probably only read once because it is so hard to read with that much grieving in it.

I wrote out my valentines for my students today. I didn't write the adults any because I didn't think they would care whereas my little ones would. It has been a few years since I have given any valentines but I felt like it today. Usually, I make a big deal out of it for mom. Her last Valentine's Day was in 2010 and we went out to lunch that afternoon. I bought her a stuffed bear with a balloon that said Happy Valentine's Day. Before that year I would really go all out for Mom on all the holidays. It made me happy to see her smile and laugh. Sometimes we would go to a movie too. I loved taking Mom to the movie that last few years. Even before then, Mom and I loved going to the movies together. This year, I will be teaching on Valentine's Day. It will be a good day since I will be teaching.

I am working on changing my sleep schedule. I am trying to go to bed a bit earlier so I will be up earlier. This way, I will be able to get what I need for teaching that day and have plenty of time to get ready for lessons. Lately, I have been staying up too late and then sleeping in later than I used too. I am working on changing that. I really need to. I know sometimes I stay in bed late because of boredom and not having something to do. I will fix that though this coming month. I am giving myself a month to fix this new plan. I need to set myself some new goals. I don't have any right now. I will have some by next month too.

I am getting tired now. I am going to read a bit and go to bed. I hope you are having a good day and evening.

what day is this??? Brain fog 2-8

2012-02-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

I almost wrote Thursday as the title to this post. Brain fog moment. I am having trouble this year writing the proper year. I don't know why. Either I write 2011 or 2013, somehow I keep missing the 2012. I am not sure because I KNOW I don't want to repeat 2011 and I am not ready to be in 2013. I rarely know what day it is. I have to totally depend on my planner to know what day it is and what I have to do. If I don't write what I need to do, it doesn't get done. My students know that I must write down what they need or I won't get it for them. Every night before I go to bed i must check my planner to see what time I have to get up the next day. I try to pull any music or CDs that I need after the lessons are over for the day so I will have it for the next day. Right now, my biggest thing is that the music must be put away. It is really getting to be an issue as I need to start pulling the movie music for the spring concert.

Bob forgot his music today. Fortunately, I have the songs in other books. We also did some sight reading. All in all it was a good lesson despite him forgetting his books. Brooke and Jillian are learning how to read music now. I am rather pleased with their progress. Their big sister, Aubrey, has been reading music for the last few weeks. They are all doing so well.

Person to Person is going to be interviewing Jon Bon Jovi in a few minutes. Kathy and I love the band Bon Jovi a lot. I think it is both of ours favorite band. It is a great interview so far! I remember going to see them in concert. I have seen them in concert about 8 times but not on the last few tours though. They are really good in concert. Their opening acts have not always been so good, but that is okay, they are and that is what counts.

The head has been back to the normal pain level today. When I had the cold, it hurt way more than normal. I am thankful the cold is over, or at least I think it is. It seems to be over now. I hope not to get another for a while. Several of my students have been absent to because of flues and colds. Most are feeling better again so I should have a full load next week. That will be good.

I am tired now so I am going to read for a bit and then head for bed. I hope your day was a good one.

Start of a new week 2-6

2012-02-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

Mondays are nice in the Paxton household because it starts another musical week for me. Outside of the extra tiredness, I am feeling back to normal, well, as normal as I can get! The students did well today. The new ones seem like they will stay or at least I hope so. One is an adult and the other is a 10 year old girl. the adult is learning piano and the 10 year old is a singer. She has a nice voice and seemed to like the music I picked. She brought a notebook and a binder like I requested. I am almost out of page savers so I am going to need to pick some later this week.

I almost forgot to dry my clothes that I need for bedtime. Silly me! I did finally remember about 25 minutes ago. I don't remember how long they take to dry though so I will be up until they are dry.

I am having the subdivision homeowners board of directors meeting here tomorrow. I am rather excited about it. I have pop and tea for people as well as some snacks, M & M's and pretzels. That should be good. I wanted to get some chex mix instead of pretzels, but they didn't have any so it is pretzels instead. I have never hosted the meeting where people have actually come so we shall see if they come tomorrow. In 2010, we were supposed to have a meeting at my house but no one came. I was actually upset at the time, but that was a long time ago. I know so far that at least 2 neighbors will be here. I hope that we don't have tons of people here as I don't have that much room, but at least 3 or 4.

Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman is on right now. I have every episode on DVD but still, I love this show. Mom loved it too. So far, I think the Hubel family like it too. I have loaned them season 1. I told them when they were done with season 1 to let me know and then I will loan them season 2. This episode is where Dr. Quinn is pregnant. I don't remember the exact happenings, but since all the episodes were good, i imagine this one will be too. I remember watching this with Mom after we bought the DVDs. Cloud Dancing has been injured in this episode. I don't remember it too well.

Well, my clothes should be dried rather shortly, so I will get ready for bed. I have a blood test tomorrow afternoon. I have tried to drink a lot of water today. I will drink some more before I go to bed. I do hope you have had a good day!

superbowl Sunday, 2-5

2012-02-05T17:28:00.000-08:00

It is the Superbowl today although I will not be watching. I am watching the Law and Order SVU marathon. I went to see "Beauty and the Beast" 3D today with my girls. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoy being with my girls. They are all so cute. Lydia is almost as tall as Natalie. She has about 1/2 inch to go and she will be as tall as Natalie. I think Hannah is a bit taller than Natalie. Sarah, of course, has several years to go before she will be as tall as her sisters. Sarah is 8 while the twins are 16 and Lydia is almost 15. She turns 15 this month. We all really liked the movie. It is my favorite. We are hoping that they will also release "the Little mermaid" as a 3D too since it is Natalie's favorite. I am sorry we missed "the Lion King" last month. It was only showing for 2 weeks so the window of opportunity was very short so we missed it. It appears the next one will be in the fall, "Finding Nemo". I remember that movie. It was good. I saw it with Mom and Lily. Mom really liked it, too.

It was a quiet weekend. I did go to Heather B-T's church last night for game night. We played Dungeons and Dragons again. I think we will be playing that about once a month now. It is okay, I am getting more familiar with it. I cursed the bad guys again last night. I play a cleric. My character name is Luca. It was Lucas when the guy played him, but now that I am playing the cleric, I changed the character to female and changed her name. Calli plays the game too. She was also knitting last night. Calli is very good at knitting and was learning a new technique, one she had never used before. I think she was doing a good job.

The cold is almost gone. All that is left is some extra exhaustion. I have slept more this past week than I have in a long time. I will freely admit, that I have been enjoying being able to sleep a bit better than usual. It has been rather nice. I am not sure if it is the NyQuil I have been taking although I did take some DayQuil too and I still fell asleep with it.

Tomorrow is a lighter day for lessons as Bob has rescheduled for Wednesday and Rachel for Saturday. I just love little Rachel. She is such a cutie! She had her lesson yesterday and is almost ready to start a new hand position with new notes. Rachel and I giggle a lot during lessons. Nothing is a beautiful as a child's laughter to me and their smiles. I love it when their whole face lights up with their smile and laughter. I loved it when Mom smiled and laughed too. I guess I like all laughter and smiles. Rick is doing well. He will be here for 2 or 3 more lessons before he will be gone again for several months.

Competition is in 2 weeks. I can't believe it is so close. I am anxious to see Kathy that weekend too. I sure hope she is available to hang out. I hope to see her a couple of times that weekend. I am leaving early on Friday so I can spend some time with her before going to the hotel, if she is available.

Apparently, TNT has a Law and Order marathon too. I am watching the regular Law and Order right now. I will alternate between the SVU and regular one. A pleasant night for me! I do hope you are having a pleasant one too!!!

cold is going away slowly 2-3

2012-02-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

I am slowly getting better. I am still very, very tired, but that is to be expected with having such a bad cold. I did sleep a bit better last night, but I am sure it is the extra cold medicine that is helping me sleep. I am planning to, again, go to sleep earlier than usual. I am teaching at 11:30 tomorrow. It is Julian's last lesson tomorrow. She is a temporary student who is learning music strictly for the musical she is in. She is such a wonderful girl. The musical she is in is "Mulan Junior". I didn't even know that there was a play of "Mulan". I thought it was just a movie. Boy, was I wrong. She is doing so very well with her part. Julian is playing the part of Mulan. I think she will be wonderful. The play is in either March or April. I can't remember which. I will ask again tomorrow. I also have my lovely Rachel tomorrow. I was sick on Monday so Rachel couldn't have her regularly scheduled lesson. She has to also reschedule because her grandmother is on vacation for most of the month. I will only see her for 3 lessons this month. She is such sweet little girl. She is 6 and very excited about learning piano. Tomorrow I will also see my cousin, Hayley as long as the weather holds out. I hope we will go out for lunch/early dinner too.

I am getting tired now so I think I shall head to be shortly.

Ground Hog Day 2012

2012-02-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

I have no idea if the ground hog saw his shadow or not. In Michigan, it never seems to matter, there is always much more winter to go! This has been a strange winter, but believe me, I am NOT complaining! I am liking it because I haven't been freezing as usual. Usually at this time of the year, I have the little heater going every night but I don't because it hasn't been below zero too much. We have had a bit of snow but not too much. I know more is coming but I don't know when because I didn't watch the news today. I will check the website. Be right back!

It is going to be in the mid 40s for the next few days. No snow until next week at this time, thank goodness for that!

I didn't go to choir practice tonight because I am still not feeling 100%. I hope I am feeling better by Sunday, we shall see. This cold has really been a bad one in the way that it wipes me out a lot. I think I slept from Saturday afternoon to Tuesday evening straight through and then yesterday I slept a lot when I wasn't teaching, same with today. I plan to rest a lot again tomorrow when I am not teaching. This weekend my cousin is supposed to stop over when she is shopping in town. I have a couple of packages that she had ordered here to give her.

I wonder if she wants to go out to eat after she picks up her packages. I have a couple of gift certificates that I can use.

Anyways, not much going on. I have had a bad headache for the past few days because of the cold. It just makes the normal headache hurt more.

Oh my! Breaking Dawn part 1 comes out on February 11. I will have to get that one. I have to eventually watch the Eclipse movie. I still haven't watched it. I did see Breaking Dawn part 1 though. I can't believe we have to wait until Thanksgiving to see part 2.

I do hope you are having a good day. I hope I am feeling back to normal tomorrow. Having a cold and fibro at the same time is not a pleasant experience! Ugh!

Slowly getting better 2-1

2012-02-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

I am slowly getting better after a few days of being down and out. I DID teach lessons today. I am glad that I was able to teach today. I had my Muglia girls and Bob as well as my usual few. I think it was a good day all around. Yes, I am very tired. I will go to bed early again tonight. I did sleep okay last night. I didn't wake up as many times to blow my nose as I did the other nights. I think I will be up for a movie on Sunday with my girls! "Beauty and the Beast" here we come! (As long as it is still playing!) The girls did well in their lessons. I was surprised (a nice on though!) that the three older girls picked to play a classical piece as a part of their assignment. They like all types of music and that makes me happy. They like classical and don't mind playing it, they actually like playing the classical stuff. They play it beautifully too. Right now the twins are playing a Sonatina by Clementi. It was kind of funny that they both picked the same piece. It just spoke to them. The other picked a different Sonatina by Spindler. Both Sonatinas that they picked are some of my favorite. I just love Clementi's music so much. His sonatinas are simply wonderful. My girls are going to come over in the next few weeks and help me file away my music. I so need some help with this. I am drowning in the music that needs to be put away.

I have several absences tomorrow. Breanna is still very ill so she won't be here. Brooke is in Disney World with the dance team at her school. They are competing in the Nationals. I am so excited for her. Her sister, Brianne has a basketball game so basically, they are all absent. I have choir practice tomorrow. I hope my voice is up with it tomorrow. I guess I will just have to wait and see!

I had sent a check yesterday for my luncheon ticket. Silly me, I don't have to pay for that since I am on the Board of Directors. Pattie called to let me know and also to see if I would like to sit with her at the luncheon as i have no one else going to the luncheon. I said yes and also told her to shred the check. I voided it out from my check book.

Oh, Sunday is the Superbowl. Hm, you sure can tell I pay attention to football. I wonder if this means the movie theatre will be less busy? One never knows. I am not sure that the movie is even playing still. I will check right now. Yes it is still playing. It is playing more times at the Theatre near me and only a few times at the theatre near the girls. I am not sure what one we will go to. I will decide by Saturday where we shall see the movie. Also, there is a Law and Order marathon on TNT Sunday. wow, "Beauty and the Beast" and "Law and Order" marathon! Great day for me!!! Not to mention 2 lessons. Aaiyana and Rick. Aaiyana is a make up from yesterday and Rick will have his regularly scheduled lesson.

I am really getting tired now. I think I will read a bit and then go to bed. I do hope you have a good evening and a good night's sleep!

Tuesday - still sick

2012-01-31T16:05:00.000-08:00

I again, had to cancel lessons this afternoon. I had to yesterday too. I haven't had to cancel lessons due to illness in about a year or so or more. I am feeling better tonight than I have felt since Saturday afternoon when the cold seemed to arrive in full force. I foresee being able to teach tomorrow though, so that will be good. My nose has improved as well as the coughing. I pretty much have slept all day and night since about Saturday afternoon when I finished teaching and came home from lunch with my cousin. I called all my students and let them know about no lessons tonight, then I went right back to bed. I will be heading back there rather shortly. I am getting tired again.

The commercial for the Excelon patch was just on. It makes me think of Mom and how much I miss her. She was on the patch for a couple of years until about the last 8 months of her life when it wasn't doing anything for her. There really isn't to help at the very end stages, unfortunately, at least nothing that helped Momma. She was such a smiling mom. She smiled a lot. If she wasn't, I would say, where is the pretty smile? and she would smile. I miss her smile and laugh most of all. I miss her hugs and kisses and giving her hugs and kisses too. She was so easy to give a hug or a kiss to. I told her every day how much I loved her. Sometimes I would ask if I had told her how much I loved her today. Sometimes she would say yes I told her and other days she would say, no I didn't. Mom was just so cute. I wonder if the boys miss her as much as I do.

Not much is happening tonight as I am still rather ill. As I said, lessons were canceled. I feel alright right now, I am a bit more tired than usual at this time of night, but that is because of the annoying cold. I do hope you are feeling fine and have missed the cold and flues that are floating around. Stay as healthy as you can!!!!

Some eye candy of the little lady! I love the smiles!

Sunday - the end of the month

2012-01-29T17:29:00.000-08:00

So far I have finally stopped coughing. I do wish the nose would stop running, not get stuffed up, just cleared up. It is like a faucet, it seems to never end. It woke me up in the night too. However, since it could have been much worse, I will take the leaky nose and all the other symptoms instead of the vasculitis.

Not much has happened today. I missed church this morning because I just didn't feel well. I emailed the director last night as I knew there was no way I would feel well enough to go. I did teach one lesson this afternoon then I took a brief nap. Wendy came over to pick up the weight bench she needs. I had one in the indoor patio and I certainly don't need it. After she left, I went back to bed for another nap. I am really tired tonight and I foresee going to bed early. I am getting up earlier than usual because of lesson tomorrow. It is the once a month lessons for my girls. We were supposed to go and see "Beauty and the Beast" but with me not feeling so good, I had to postpone to next week. I hope it is still playing next week. Star Wars is coming back into theatres too in 3D although there will be some screens for the regular movie too. Thank goodness for that! I am not sure about this 3D. I am trying it with the "Beauty and the Beast" so we shall see how I do. I have a hard time with stuff coming at my face. I have always had this issue. I think I should be okay with the "Beauty and the Beast" movie since I know it really well, at least I am hoping it will be okay.

Well, there is a Law and Order SVU marathon on right now. I have seen this episode before and it is a good one. Then again, there aren't really any bad ones that I have seen. I enjoy watching Law and Order both the SVU one and the regular one. I also liked the Trial by Jury one they had a few years ago. Unfortunately, they cancelled it and that was that for it. I did buy the DVDs for that season. I have watched them a few times. Mom liked them too. Before she became afraid of TV, Mom and I watched them weekly. Once she became afraid of TV (about April to May 2010), we didn't watch them anymore. I haven't seen any new ones in about 2 years now. I don't even remember when it is on TV now. It used to be Tuesday at 10pm, but I think it is Wednesdays now but I am not really sure. I also know that the character Eliot has left the show but Olivia is still there. I like the actress who plays Olivia. She is really good.

I do hope you have had a good day. I think I have slept through most of it and plan to go to bed soon.

Yup, it is official, it is only a cold! Whew, what a relief!

2012-01-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

I am a semi happy camper today. I say semi because I feel like crap but I am happy that it is only a cold and not the start of vasculitis. I always worry that the vasculitis may come back but so far, it hasn't! Thank God for that!

Anyways, I have a cold, but it is only in my head, so that is good. I was able to teach the 3 lessons without much trouble though so I glad about that. I will be going to bed rather early tonight though because I am very tired. I am actually ready for a nap right now. Wow, this is crazy!

Lessons went well except for the brief coughing attack in the middle of Brooke's lesson. I quickly got it under control and we went on. Both girls are doing really well. Camille finished her level 2 books and is ready to start level 3. I am so pleased and proud of her. She seems to love piano and is doing a wonderful job. She finishes these books awfully fast, let me tell you. I am sure she will do the same with these books too.

I hope you are having a good day. I am going to nap now. I am going to put my pajamas on and crawl back into my warm, comfy bed.

I want a new Nose 1-27

2012-01-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

My little nose has been running on and off since last night. I would literally wake up to blow my nose. It is very annoying. Of course the fear shoots through me, is this just a little cold or is the vasculitis back? Ever since I had a bout of vasculitis in 2003, a runny nose just sends fear right down my back until it turns into a cold. I am hoping it turns into a cold. I do have a bad headache tonight, and that could also be either a cold or vasculitis so for now, I just wait.

I at least, feel less "off" today than I did on Wednesday. That could be either the beginning of a cold or vasculitis.

Anyways, it has been a decent day. I got my hair washed and dried and had some lessons. Carolyn, my neighbor and fellow choir member, came over to go over a new song we got last night at choir practice. It is a good one, but the last page is very hard so she and I went over a few times. I feel a lot better about it now, I just hope I feel good about it next Thursday during practice and next Sunday when we are singing it. I simply love being in this choir. The music is a nice mix and the people are very nice. It is also very nice getting to know Carolyn and her family better. We have been neighbors for over 20 years, but it seems like in the last couple of years that I have been getting to know them much better. They are a very nice family. Carolyn was the young lady who would come over and stay with Mom while I went shopping or had appointments. Mom really liked Carolyn and they got along rather well. Barbara Jean (Carolyn's Mom) was one of the first people I called when they said Mom was dying. She came over right away. They are a nice family who I like a lot. I have spent several evenings with them. Right now they have my first season of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" DVDs. They have seen the pilot movie and the 2nd episode. So far, I think they all like the show a lot. I know that Mom and i spent many hours enjoying that show both when it aired on TV and watching the DVDs. I also told Carolyn and Rachel, that they were welcome to come and borrow any DVD of mine that they wished except the few that belong to Andrew because they would not be family oriented or appropriate for them to watch. I plan to eventually pull those from the library and donate them. I don't watch rated R movies. At this point, they just don't interest me.

Calli was so funny tonight. We giggled as usual through our lessons. She stayed a bit after until her dad came to pick her up. I went to take a picture of her and then she wanted the camera. She took a lot of pictures and you should see some of them! They turned out really good. For a child who has a smidge, a very, very, very slight smidge of vision in the upper left corner of the left eye, she took some good pictures. I was really impressed. I also thought it was cute because she was so excited to take pictures. Calli just had a ball with that camera. I will post them on face book and tag her mother and father tomorrow. I was going to do it tonight but I am getting rather tired. I deleted the ones that were either too close or pictures of her fingers or my hair (she took a whole bunch of the back of my head!). She did take 2 of her, they were a little bit clipped but overall, they were good pictures. Calli is just filled with so many surprises. Acer did very well too. He wanted to do a siren for a warm up before his singing lesson. I didn't have a problem with it because they are a good warm up before singing and I have asked both kids not to sing without warming their voices up. They always warm up before they practice singing. They are very serious musicians and I do love teaching them. Acer has really become more serious these last couple of months about piano lessons and working hard with proper fingering that I am so proud of the young man. Of course, all of my students are awesome and I am proud of them all.

Well, the news is on and the weather is on right now. We are getting more snow in the morning, afternoon, and Sunday. For the total weekend, about 2 inches. That isn't too bad, but yuck, snow. Otherwise known as the white stuff. By Tuesday, rain. This weather patterns are very strange for this time of year but I will admit that I am totally enjoying the warmer weather that we are having. Last weekend was the first time the snow actually stuck overnight. Of course, that has been gone since Tuesday when it started to rain. I don't ache as much when it is warmer out. I am not as cold tonight as I was last night. I am not sure if it was warmer today or not. It is hard to say. Anyways, if you don't like the weather in Michigan, just wait a second and it will change! That is the saying in this state!

I do hope you had a good day. I am going to read for a bit and then head to my very comfy bed! I love my new blankets! They are so warm!

I am so off for timing today 1-25

2012-01-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

Mariela was here this afternoon. She is a very nice woman from Argentina. She did a nice job cleaning and vacuuming the floors. She scrubbed the utility/kitchen/dining room floor too and vacuumed the rest of the carpeted rooms. She clean 2 of the 3 bathrooms and boy do they look awfully nice. I am almost afraid to use them for fear of dirtying them up, almost. I did make some beef stew tonight for dinner. I am not really that hungry right now so I don't really want any tonight or at least right now. I may want some later, I don't know.

I am so off on timing tonight. I got mixed up at the little ones lesson. There are 3 girls who share an hour. It works well for us except for some reason I thought I was running slow, when in reality, I wasn't. Fortunately, her mom asked me about it and it was straightened out right away. I was able to slow down a bit and do flash cards for each of the girls and then show Aubrey her new part of the theory game. She was so excited about that. It is so nice to see how excited they get about this stuff.

I managed to have all the water from the stew dry up. Yup, I don't know how you can fail at cooking beef stew in the crock-pot, but I did. I have never had that happen before. Wow, what can I say? I don't know if it is even salvageable. I sure hope so.

I am watching TCM right now and Angela Landsbury is being interviewed. She is so awesome. I just love her! I have seen so many movies and TV shows including "Murder She Wrote". I have seen EVERY single episode of that show! I haven't seen all the movies but some of them. I plan to get the movies DVD soon. She is such a down to earth woman. She gives thanks to the people who she worked with whether they are the directors or the actors. They are talking about "Murder She Wrote" right now. It was just wonderful. She is such a nice lady. I like how she doesn't really talk abut her family. She barely mentioned that she did talk her family to Ireland when her children were having trouble but she didn't go into detail. I like that the interviewer did not try to get her to say more either. He stuck to talking about her career. That was so wonderful and I just can't describe it. Apparently, she is the actor of the month for TCM. They are re-running a lot of her movies. I will have to check the website for the schedule. I am glad I stumbled upon it. I really am. I was just channel surfing to see what else was on and lo and behold, there it was. It made me smile when they talked about "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" as well as the "Murder She Wrote". It made me smile with the memories of Mom and I. Mom and I would watch "Murder She Wrote" every week together. I have all the TV episodes but I need her 4 movies after the show was cancelled. I remember Mom and I racing downstairs on Sunday evenings in our pajamas with our blankets to sit together on the sofa down in the family room. Angela was also the voice of Mrs. Potts in the "Beauty and the Beast", my favorite movie ever. I love her singing the song "Beauty and the Beast". It is simply Beautiful.

I do hope you had a good day! We will have sunshine on Friday! (finally!!!!!) Tomorrow is rain and above 40 degrees.

another guest writer

2012-01-25T15:58:00.000-08:00

This is one about massage and fibromyalgia by Jenna. I hope you enjoy it!!!

T9:Massage and Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a frustrating illness. A syndrome rather than a disease, fibromyalgia causes muscle pain, twitches and even a sensation of burning in the muscles. In fact, the name fibromyalgia means “fibrous tissue muscle pain.” Up to 5% of the population suffers from fibromyalgia; as many as 6 million people in the United States have this syndrome.

Fibromyalgia causes pain in the ligaments, tendons and muscles of the body and those with this syndrome often say they feel they are aching all over. When muscles are not used, they are more likely to spasm, trapping oxygen, nutrients and waste materials inside the muscle. Your central nervous system – the brain and spinal column – is also involved in fibromyalgia and the syndrome can affect the neurotransmitters and hormones used by the central nervous system. Fibromyalgia is more common in women than men and has even appeared in a few children. It cannot be cured and the syndrome often lasts for years. Trigger points -- tender areas in soft tissue of muscles – are one of the signs of fibromyalgia. These are located in distinct areas of the body and are used to aid in diagnosis of the syndrome.

Massage therapy seems to benefit individuals with many illnesses, from headaches to mesothelioma cancer to fibromyalgia. It can help reduce stiffness and pain and promote relaxation. Massage therapy may enhance the production of neurotransmitters and other substances that help to block pain, such as endorphins, serotonin and norepinephrine. The stroking, palpating and kneading of muscles help relieve tension and improve blood flow. Massage can also increase flexibility and range of motion, decrees stress and depression and help you sleep better.

Swedish massage, deep tissue massage and myofascial release are the massage techniques most likely to benefit people with fibromyalgia. Swedish massage is designed to increase oxygen delivery to the muscles and uses long, gliding movements, kneading, tapping and vibration. Deep tissue massage is a vigorous form of therapy that targets deep muscle layers and can help loosen areas where the muscles have become hardened or inflexible. Your muscles are covered with a thin layer of tissue called fascia that can become tight and cause pain. Myofascial release uses stretching techniques to help loosen the fascia.

Guest Writer

2012-01-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

Hi! Here is the article written by Julia. I hope you enjoy it:

Gluten intolerance doesn’t mean it’s the end of your world; it doesn’t mean your bread-filled life has to be over. Gluten intolerance or Celiac disease shouldn’t prohibit someone from being able to enjoy foods that would normally have gluten in them.

There are many companies that produce foods that are gluten free. Grains and starch from sources such as corn, potatoes, rice and tapioca are acceptable replacements for a gluten-free diet.

Almond and gram flour are two good alternatives and can be used in the same ways that regular flour can. Different types of bean and soybean flours are also sometimes used in gluten-free products to add protein or fiber.

There are even some gluten-free beers and alcoholic beverages starting to hit the market. These beverages are usually labeled as such, but there is still some controversy over what exactly defines a fully gluten-free alcoholic beverage.

Gluten can be used in many different ways, so the gluten-intolerant and/or people with Celiac disease must be careful of certain unexpected products. For example, gluten can be used as a stabilizing agent or a thickener in foods like ice cream or ketchup. They should also take into consideration the ingredients of any medications, vitamins or cosmetics, which can sometimes contain traces of wheat or gluten in them.

Gluten-free diets are becoming increasingly popular as more people are becoming diagnosed with gluten intolerance or Celiac disease. There are now even things like gluten-free cake, pizza and gluten free bread makers available for these special dieters.

There are a lot of unique possibilities with gluten-free diets, and all of these new options can help with them. Bread lovers who are gluten intolerant can finally enjoy delicious and satisfying breads and cakes from their own kitchens.

busy day tuesday 1-14

2012-01-24T17:29:00.000-08:00

I went to the Payroll people and got the form I needed. I would like to know why they didn't send it in 2008, but they didn't really have an answer and I had to pay $125. I was not a happy camper about this. That is a lot of money that I could have used for other bills. I will be mailing it tomorrow with the letter it came with. I will copy the papers before I mail them though.

Mariela is coming tomorrow to help clean. I am very excited about this, finally, my house will be somewhat clean with nicely cleaned and scrubbed floors, the bathrooms in tip top shape and the kitchen too. The family room will be vacuumed and well, everything will just be done nicely. It is so exciting! I am asking her to come once a month to help with a good cleaning and perhaps I will be able to keep up a bit. It is so hard for me because of the fibro and my house doesn't look super good right now.

A couple of my students are ill this week with the flu. There is a really nasty flu bug flying around in the schools around here. We cancelled one little guy's lesson ahead of time because he has this horrible flu and I don't think he is going to be feeling much better tomorrow. I don't wish to take a chance of getting this flu and passing it around to my students. That is just not recommended at all. I don't want it nor do I want my students to have it.

I am waiting for the last student of the night to arrive. She is a competition only student. I wish she would take regularly scheduled lessons, but she doesn't. She really needs to have regularly scheduled lessons to work on technique. Her technique is weak and we need to fix that.

Charlie has rescheduled his lesson to Thursday since he has a 1/2 day of school. I think he has exams that day too but I am not sure. Brooke and Brianne had theirs last week so I am not sure about Charlie's school. They are in different districts so their schedules for school are a bit different.

My girls are home from Washington DC. I have looked at their pictures. It looks like they had a really good time. I am glad. This was the first time they went on an overnight trip without their mom or dad. They are 16 now. That just amazes me because I remember them at 7 and 8 years old! I am hoping to see them this weekend sometime. I need some help with the filing and the taking down of Christmas decorations. I haven't even started it yet outside of taking down the garlands. Perhaps I will take some down tonight. I don't know.

Tonight is NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles. It is also dance moms. I will watch the NCIS stuff though as long as they aren't re-runs and watch dance moms on the computer. It is kind of neat that I can watch full episodes of the TV shows on the computer. It is quite neat what the computers are able to do now a days. My student, Breanna likes Dance Moms too. We both think that the dance coach and the moms are crazy. They really are. Even the craziest mom at my old dance studio that I went too isn't as crazy as these moms, although they are close. Either that or time has erased how insane they actually were. That is possible too. Of course, the rivalry between the two dance studios is funny to watch too. At one point they were all a part of the same studio, Abby Lee Dance Company, but the one mom, Cathy, took her daughter back to her studio. Last week they competed against each other and Abby Lee won, but it was close. Then there was the issue of age. Cathy deliberately lied about the age of one of her students. If I was that mother of that dancer, I would have been super mad at Cathy. Competitions cost a lot of money and to deliberately lie about the dancers age means the dancer is disqualified. Anyways, it is an interesting show regardless and I do like it.

the next post will be a guest writer. Her name is Julia and she will write about Gluten free diets. I do hope you will enjoy the article.

Have a great evening!

the start of a fresh musical week

2012-01-23T18:24:00.000-08:00

Mondays usually start rather slow except for once a month when I have the Muglia girls. Then I get up early and head straight over. This was not the Muglia day though, so it started rather slow. Bob has his lesson and then my little Rachel. Isaac was sick this week, poor kid has the flu or the start of something. Selma was here for her lesson. We chatted for a good 30 minutes before we actually started. Oops! It was a good thing I didn't have a student after her tonight. We had a good chat though. She is a wonderful young lady and very talented. She is also artistic so I may ask if she will design the spring concert cover. I like to do that every so often, have a real piece of art as the cover.

Tomorrow I will, hopefully, get the last piece of paperwork for the store. I sure hope so. I am tired of this IRS stuff. At least I know this will be the last of all the paperwork that was not filed. I plan to ask why this was never filed. I paid them to file those types of paperwork and they didn't. I want to know why because this has caused me trouble with the IRS and they need to tell me why they didn't file any of the 3rd and end of the year paperwork. Anyways, the end of the year stuff has been taken care of, I am working on the 3rd quarter stuff. We lost the store in the middle of the 3rd quarter so they should have sent the paperwork.

I am very excited about my schedule now. I was so scared last year at this time because I didn't have enough students to help pay the bills. I was also scared because I didn't have Mom anymore. Now I am not as scared. It took a year or so before the fear calmed down to a more manageable level. I am still get scared but I have good friends to speak with if I need to discuss something. I am thankful for that. I also have got my power of attorney for health care in order. I just need the other power of attorney to finish. It is good to be prepared. This way, I won't need it. I figure if I don't have it, I will need it, if I do, I won't. That was always how it happened with Mom and me. I miss her all the time but I can think about her without crying now, which is a step up from last year at the time.

I have to burn some CDs for Tracey tomorrow. I do hope you have had a good day.

a nice Sunday 1-22

2012-01-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

It was a lovely, restful day today. I went to church, then came home for a lesson, took a nap, and then went to my neighbor's house for dinner and a movie. It was lovely. Dinner was a great, yummy soup with cheese sticks and egg rolls. They were all really, really yummy, let me tell you! I thoroughly enjoyed. The movie was the Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, part 2. Don Knots and Tim Conway are so funny. They were such great comedians. The movie was really good and so was the company. I will have to have them come here for a dinner and a movie some night too.

this week I have to go to the company that used to do my payroll when I had the store. For some reason they never filed a form that needs to now be filed. I am just waiting for a phone call to let me know I can go and pick it up. I had though to pick it up tomorrow but I may be going on Tuesday. I will call tomorrow to see if the paper is ready. I think the lady did say she would call, but I will just in case. The form had to be printed from the archives since it was from 2008.

We are having the strangest weather this winter. It snowed on Friday/Saturday with temperatures in the teens and tomorrow it should be about 45 degrees and thunderstorms. However, I will take all the warmer type days I can since I am cold all the time. I seem to ache a bit less at bedtime when it isn't so cold too, it is a small difference but every small difference helps that is for sure.

I need to buy a new rug for the doorway to the garage. Now that my lovely little car is in the garage all the time now, I go in and out that door and with this wet weather, I don't really have anywhere to wipe my wet shoes on while I switch to my slippers. My students are getting used to taking there shoes off on wet and snowy days. I don't like shoes on in the house when the weather is wet or snowy or if there is salt on the ground to melt snow or ice. I don't want the salt to wreck my carpet. I know it is old but I like it and have no plans to replace it anytime soon, besides I can't afford it either.

The new round table is working out well. i like it. I also like the tablecloth I have on it. It is cute with hearts all over it since it is a Valentine's Day one. I have my Valentines too for my students. I am settling into the new year. Right now, the 2 students who are going to competition are getting ready for it. The rest are doing well with their pieces that they are learning. I will start working on the Spring Concert songs next month. The girls will be coming over in a week or so to help me file the music and CDs. We are also slated to go and see a movie! I can't wait. They are out of town right now at a youth rally in Washington DC. I think it is the first one they have been to without their parents. They are going with their church. I can't wait to hear all about their adventures in Washington DC.

I do hope you had a great day. I certainly did. The movie and dinner was a perfect way to end a quiet day.

busy day 1-21

2012-01-21T20:39:00.000-08:00

It started out with 2 little lessons. The students did very well and the lessons were enjoyable. Camille is really coming along in piano. She is ready for the 3rd book already. I know, she just finished 1B it seems like. I really like teaching Camille because she is so excited to play.

After lessons I went to pick up Calli. I picked her up and we went through the drive thru of McDonald's to get our drinks. (Grocery shopping makes one thirsty even before we start) We arrived at Walmart and began our list of items we needed. I had a long shopping list today. I needed so much for the month. Calli and I giggled our way through the food section of the store. I picked up everything I needed and we then headed to the cashiers. Calli likes to put the food on the conveyer belt herself so I don't really help much at all. She is very independent and I really like that about her. The she would take the bags and put them in my scooter cart. Before we go outside we have to transfer the bags to a regular cart as I don't like to take scooters outside at all, even if they say I can (which is on clear days, definitely not today). It is too cold old and it will hurt the batteries. So once Calli and I transfer the bags from one cart to the other we head for the car. We put the bags in the car and drive back to my house. Calli helped me bring them in and put them away. I am running out of room in the back room for any more cans of soup or vegetables right now. I will have to rearrange something in the future.

When we were done with that, I was going to go to get my hair washed and dried as they were closed last night. Calli said, no, I can do it. She did. She helped me wash my hair and she dried it herself. I did the bangs but that was about it. Calli is very good at the hair. I think she was very pleased with herself too, I know I was very pleased about the whole thing. My hair is done and ready for church tomorrow.

We have game night tonight. We are meeting at their church. I have never played dungeons and dragons so this is all new to me. I think we meet once a month and play. Since I don't usually do a whole lot in the evening (too tired mostly from teaching or doing stuff in the house) I am looking forward to this evening. I will probably find myself going to bed a bit early too because I am really tired after the shopping and the hair wash/dry. I also have to get up early for church tomorrow. I can take a nap after church before the make up lessons if I want or I can wait until after all the lessons are done. I do have to do some laundry tomorrow too so I may be changing into jammies when I am done teaching. I am also going to make some nice beef stew for me tomorrow. I bought a kit of it and it sounds so yummy. When I get up in the morning I will put it in the crock pot and let it start to simmer all day. Yummy! Beef stew!!!!!

The game was fun. It was kind of confusing at first, but fun. I didn't realize it was a story type game. I am a cleric. Apparently, I can doom people and heal people. It came in handy tonight as we were journeying to a town and 6 goblins and 1 bugbear creature was attacking us. Thankfully, there are no visuals because I can't imagine what a bugbear or a goblin looks like. I am also half elf. I am not sure when we are playing again, but I think it is once a month. The church was having its own game night so that was nice. Acer is too young to play the game so he entertained himself with his play saxophone. You hit different buttons on it and they play different music depending on what mode it is in. He also rolled around in a car for a while. His grandmother was there too only I didn't see her until the end. She was in the social hall with some of the other church members. Heather B-T's brother James was there too. He was explaining all the rules and my character from the game to me. He was very helpful. Bill and Heather were too. Josh is a nice young man who was also playing the game. I have a book that will explain more to me. I plan to read it this week and perhaps take some notes. It was fun tonight. I have never done a role playing game before so this is all new to me, although I love playing games. I am hoping to host a games night here at home in the next few weeks. My friend, Mani from college, is interesting in a game night so is another friend of mine. I have the room downstairs at the round table or here in the dining room too. It all depends on who shows up. I am thinking monopoly would be a good game or Trivial Pursuit. I have 3 Trivial Pursuits: Disney, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings (the movies not the book). I also have a game of Sorry and Uno (winnie the pooh uno no less) It all depends on what people would like that night.

Tomorrow is church, make up lessons, and then laundry day. It comes awfully early so I am going to read a bit and then head for bed. I do hope you have had a good day too!

Friday 1-20

2012-01-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

Fridays are usually quiet with a few lessons and that is about it. I usually get my hair washed and dried on Fridays after lessons but because of the storm we are getting, they must have closed early. It is kind of a bummer for me. I guess I should have gone earlier when I first got up or before my first lesson, but I didn't. I waited. The roads were not very good when I went out. I went right there and came right home. My cousin is supposed to come over tomorrow to shop and pick up some packages at my house, but I am not sure I will see her. I will find out tomorrow. I will check facebook right away when I get up to see if she will be arriving or not. I have 2 lessons tomorrow. One will be a rather long one because we are actually doing 2 lessons at that time, the other will be a regular lesson. After that, my cousin is supposed to stop by and pick up the packages then Calli and I will go grocery shopping. Tomorrow night is game night at Heather B-T's house. That should be fun. Sunday will be church in the morning with 2 make up lessons in the afternoon. It should be lots of fun. I am looking forward to going grocery shopping with Calli. She is such fun to go shopping with. Calli is very independent, very. She likes to be in charge of the scooter when we are in line. She likes turning it off when she wants. Calli also likes to steer the scooter. If the part of the store we are in is not busy, I will let her help steer however, if it is busy she just holds on to the cart part of the scooter. We have so many giggles when we are shopping. She likes to take things off the shelf and put them in the cart. I just direct her to the shelf that the items are on and she picks them up. Calli is very much a big help to me, not just company, although she is very good company too!

Emily is doing better on her notes this week. I think the computer game was really helping her but her dad got a new computer for Christmas and the new computer doesn't have the computer game on it. Breanna has it right now so when she gives it back next week, I will give it to Emily. The game seems to help all the students. I have noticed that several students who were having trouble remembering their notes started improving when they started playing the computer game. My goal is to have Emily know her notes down pat by the time she is finished with the level 1B book she is in. I like to have all the students really well by the time they start level 2. Usually by the end of level 1B the students know their notes really well. Level 2 has them starting to move their hands away from the 5 finger positions that they are used to. The songs are much more complicated too with 3 note chords instead of one note at a time in the bass clef. I just wish the vocal music had level music books too. The Royal Canadian Conservatory does have levels, but they don't have CDs to accompany them. They still don't. I do hope some day they do because there is some good music in them.

I wonder how much snow we have right now. We are supposed to get about 4 or 5 inches overnight and into the morning. I am so glad and grateful that my car is in the garage. It is the first time in 15 or so years since my car has been in the garage. I also like it because then no one knows whether or not I am at home and since I am avoiding certain people, it comes in handy. I haven't heard from them so that is good. I do hope they never call again.

I hope you have had a good day. I am tired now. I don't seem to be the extreme exhaustion that I had earlier in the week. My tummy has actually been okay today and yesterday so maybe the episode is over. I can only hope so. Tomorrow I get up earlier than I do during the week because I teach earlier in the day than I do in the week. Unlike most people, my Saturdays and Sundays are my early days while during the week I get up later. I do hope you have a good day tomorrow!

a music filled day 1-19

2012-01-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

The house was filled with music today. I had a few lessons and then choir practice. It was definitely a good day. My students Deema and Wama are doing so well for their 2nd lesson. I simply love the girls already. they are so eager to learn all about piano. Deema even went ahead. She was on the black keys for her assignments and figured out middle C position by herself! I mean, wow, how cool is that? I was so pleased at her interest. Her younger sister, Wama, is very excited too! It is so nice to teach students who can't wait to learn.

Choir went pretty well. We are singing a very powerful song on Sunday and not just the lyrics but the range! As I no longer have a very top range, I often sing the second soprano notes when given a choice of super high notes. I used to be able to pop those notes out without a problem, not anymore. Now I can't hit them. The highest I can now hit is the G on top of the treble staff. Despite the limits to my high range, I love singing in the choir! I really do. there are some really nice people in the choir too. One gentleman, Mark, has a granddaughter who 5 weeks ago had the same operation I had 28 years ago. She is doing very well and went back to school this week. His granddaughter seems to be doing really well and I am glad about that.

I am feeling a bit better tonight compared to the last few days. Last night when I went to go to bed, I started having major tummy pains. They lasted until about 3 to 4 am. the last time I looked at the clock it was 4 am. I hope for a better night tonight. I will certainly pray for it.

Tomorrow will be a quiet type day. I do have a few lessons so that will be good. Acer and Calli will be here for their lessons as well as Emily. It is also the day I go and get my hair done. I go once a week to have someone wash and dry my hair. I like the ladies who do my hair. Usually, it is Monica but if she isn't there Cindy will do it. I like them both. Well, off to do some reading before I head for bed shortly! Hopefully I will have a much better night's sleep! I do hope you have a good night too!

Wednesday 1-18

2012-01-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

It has been a good day. I had a few lessons, Rahul and the Richards' girls. They are all so cute. Allison did well today too. She is working on confidence, she is getting better so I am happy with her progress.

My phone doesn't seem to be holding its charge now. It is a concern for me. I don't know if that means I should just get a new phone or a new battery for the phone. I am so not good with phones. This phone has been such a good little phone. I have pictures of Mom on it so I need to somehow get them off of it. I am just not sure what to do with it right now. I have asked my friend, Ross, what to do. He is a tech guy and good at it too. I don't know how much a new phone even costs at this point. I know that my contract is not up yet but when I was qualified to get a new phone, I didn't get one. Phones are so very confusing! I don't want of the touch type ones because I don't really like them. I like the style of my phone even if the pictures are not super great. I still like it a lot. I just got an answer from Ross. He said a new battery would be the way to go so I am going to. I should be able to get it from Amazon.com. The phone is charging right now so I hope it will last at least until tomorrow so I can research what type battery I need.

My old dining room table is at the end of the road right now. So far, only the chair has been taken. The other chairs are down in the family room. They will get brought up and taken out soon. I am not worried about that and they are not in the way in the family room. It is awfully nice to have a nice library. Whenever I finish a book, I just go down the stairs and get a new one. I put one away and take the other up the stairs. It is quite cool. I am saving up for both a blue ray player and a new TV. I am planning to get a small TV for the kitchen/dining room and take the one that is currently in the dining room back down in the family room. The blue ray player is for the family room too. I already have a DVD player in the family room. I have one up in the dining room too. The TV in the kitchen/dining room is the old style with a big back to it. I want a slimmer one for that room. It is still a really good TV, it just is too big for the kitchen/dining room. Eventually I will repaint the kitchen/dining room. First I need to put new flooring down for the entire kitchen/dining room/utility room floor. The old floor is not a very good color anymore. Maybe the new person who is coming to help me clean will be able to get some of the stains out of it.

My head is a bit sore more than usual this evening. I don't have a sore throat but it seems like it is about to get sore. It is a strange feeling. I have felt like I am coming down with something all week. I sure hope I am not. I do not want or need a cold. I have a busy day tomorrow with a few lessons and choir practice. I am not sure what song we are singing this week in church. I can't remember right now. I will find out tomorrow.

Well, it is getting late and I am getting tired. I will go to bed earlier than usual tonight because I teach a bit early tomorrow and I have to go to the bank before my evening lesson. I owe one mom $2 because I was $2 short with change last week when she paid for books for her girls. I hope you are having a good day.

Tuesday 1-17

2012-01-17T18:49:00.000-08:00

It has been a rather raining, quiet day here. My first student of the day did not show up. I was not happy about it. Her mom called about 45 minutes into what should have been her lesson. Hopefully, she will make up the lesson this weekend. My other two lessons did show up and they went pretty well. Samuel is at the point where he is going to be learning lines and spaces. Yeah, he is having trouble noticing the difference between a line note and a space note. I do hope next week will be better for him. Charlie did well as usual. He is such a good student.

I am hoping to meet up with my friend, Jennie soon. I went to high school with her. She is very nice. Face book reconnected us as well as other high school friends. Face book is a good thing for reconnecting. I also have reconnected with several college friends. Anyways, I do hope to see her real soon. I also hope to see Wendy soon too. I haven't seen her for a few weeks. She is having problems with her neck. It doesn't sound too good. I think we are all falling apart at times, physically at least.

I am going grocery shopping this Saturday with Calli then later that night will be game night. We are playing Dungeons and Dragons, something I have never played before. I am also hoping to have a game night here at my house to play monopoly or something like that. I am not sure exactly what, but that is okay. I also am going to have my aunt and uncle (and Jayson, my cousin) to come over for dinner now that I have my nice new to me table set. It actually makes my dining room look bigger than it really is. I don't feel so cramped in now.

I am watching a show I have never seen before since NCIS is a re-run this evening. I am watching "Still Standing". It is really funny. Now I wish I had a DVR because it is on the same time as NCIS and when it is a new NCIS, I have to watch my NCIS but this show is really funny. It is also a Dance Moms and NCIS Los Angeles night. *sigh* How to choose? Pretty much every other night I am not that excited about TV and here on Tuesdays they have several good shows. It isn't fair but I will work it out. I can watch Dance Moms and NCIS on the computer. This is such a good show! It is too funny.

Dance Moms is really funny tonight. The new Mom is just insane. She just interrupted a dance rehearsal. That is the worst thing to do in Abby Lee's studio. I do think it is crazy how fast they have to not only learn, but perfect these dances. A new one every week. These girls are ages 7 to 13. I will say though, they are wonderful dancers. Absolutely wonderful. They have great facial expressions and their technique is really good. The next competition they are going to is "Rising Star". I competed in Rising Star 20 years ago when I was a dancer. I won at regionals 3rd highest score 12 and over. I went to nationals that year too. I got 4th place overall for solos. I was happy with my score that is for sure. The National Trophy is the only one I have left. The rest were donated (without me knowing) a year and a half ago. I was not that happy about it, but now it is okay because I can't get them back. I am doing pretty well with letting some things go that have happened. I am not completely there yet, but I am working on it. I am glad that the trophy was saved. It was in Mom's room. Mom was really happy how I did. I worked really hard for that. I won first in my age group and then 4th overall. I sang "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from "Phantom of the Opera". I think somewhere in this house is the video Mom bought of my performance. That was the last time I competed because starting the next fall, I was a full fledged teacher. I would only send my students to the competitions and not compete myself. Sometimes I miss the life at the Dance Studio, other times, I don't. I miss the size I was at the time. I have gained so much weight after I quit dancing. I learned the hard way, you don't quit dancing 4 to 6 hours a day to doing absolutely no exercise what so ever! Yup, I learned that one the hard way. I also quit because the pain was just too much to deal with. I had such a hard time with floor work and jumps because my muscles hurt so much all the time. We didn't know at the time about Fibro or that I even had it. I don't know what else I could have done if I did know, Mom and I tried everything I could. She would put heating pads on my hips and legs, as well as Icy Hot. Nothing ever worked, now I know why, but I didn't then. Mom always came to my recitals and she did come to some of the competitions, especially my last year. She was there at the Nationals too.

I got a really neat Picture Frame for Christmas. I haven't figured out exactly what pictures I am putting in it yet. It has a whole bunch of picture frames in the big one. It is really pretty. I have another one that has room for lots of pictures in it too. I am spending the winter going through family pictures and seeing what pictures I want in them. I have some nice pictures of friends too that will go in. I hope I find the one picture of Kathy and I at her wedding. I also have a really nice picture of Mom and I at the wedding too. the photographer was also taking pictures of the wedding party and their significant others. Since I didn't have one, I had my picture taken with Mom. Kathy suggested it and I am very glad that she did because it came out very nicely. I like that picture a lot.

I do hope your day has been good. So far, I love my new dining room set. I do feel bad that I got rid of my old one. I have some memories attached to it, but it was about to fall apart and I don't have the time or the skills to redo it myself. If Mom were here, we could do it together, but at this point, I am just not going to do it. the chair that was put out there is gone but as of tonight when I turned off the light, the table was still there getting totally rained on. It definitely needs to be refinished now after being in the elements now. I do really like my little round table. The chairs are pretty comfortable too. I no longer have to sit on the office chair. I can take it downstairs in the office soon. I will leave it in the living room right now, but eventually it will go down in the office.

The table has arrived!

2012-01-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

Yes! It is here! The new to me table!!!!! Here is the final look of the table:

It is a bit smaller than the old one, about 1/3 smaller, but that is okay! Less table for me to load down. I can comfortably fit 5 or 6 people at the table and that is what counts. I don't have a lot of company over anyhow so that is just fine. I will have the next subdivision meeting of the board of directors here. It will be the first time I have had them here in a few years. It should be a good evening and I am looking forward to it.

It has been a slightly weird type day for me. I was so exhausted last night. I went to bed at 10 pm (which is not like me at all!) and woke up at 2 in the afternoon. Yes, I said 2 pm. I did wake up every few hours as usual because of pain. I would get up very groggy and stand up, then turn and go back into bed. I was very light headed this afternoon when I got up. It was all very strange. I am feeling alright now. I am certainly not that tired right now that is for sure. I do hope I am fine tomorrow too.

I have had a strange thing happen every night the last week or two at night in the middle or near morning part of the night. For no reason, I will all of a sudden feel like I am going to throw up, sometimes I will for no reason and not really any warning. I already take some medicine for acid reflux and I don't have it that bad so this is just really strange to me. It is annoying to me and rather upsetting. I am wondering if I should call my tummy doctor on this one. It has been about 2 weeks since it starting. It used to happen every so often, but now it is more than that.

I just got back from Walmart. I decided that I needed a Valentine's Day table cloth for the new to me table. I wasn't going to get one, just let the glass be the top. Then the fingerprints (mine) kept showing so I thought, you know what, I am a table cloth kind of girl, so I got a new one. I didn't have a Valentine's Day one anyways so I was going to get a new one.

My dear friend, Julie, just called a few minutes ago. Oh my. I knew she had not been feeling well, but I had no idea what was really going on. I am so glad she told me. Julie has a heart murmur and now the valve either needs to be replaced or a balloon put in it. She thinks that it may be done as early as next week. She has gone to a great hospital, the University of Michigan hospital so that is great news. I am not sure if there is a test before she gets the procedure or not. Now her heart is enlarged. This is because the valve is not working well. Once the procedure is done, whether they replace the valve or put a balloon in it, the doctor said in 4 to 6 months, the heart should go back to its normal size. I sure hope so. If you can, please add Julie to your prayer list. I would greatly appreciate it. I am so glad she told me. I was wondering what was going on. While she was working here at my house she would get out of breath super easy. I totally understand why now. Julie sounds very up about this whole thing too. I told her to let me know what needs to be done. I will re-arrange lessons and have make ups if she needs help. She is a very good friend and has been for many years now.

The snow is now gone. It is about 42 degrees out this evening. Light rain was falling as I was driving to and from the store. I also got a couple of Valentine's Day window clings. They are very cute. I haven't even taken down the Christmas Decorations, and I am planning Valentine's Day decorations. I am a silly at times. I am getting a bit tired again, not like last night where I was so exhausted beyond belief. I do hope not to sleep as much as I did last night. I hope for a good night's sleep with waking up at the regular time.

I finally took picture of the family that Julie helped me (she did a lot of the work) clean up and de-clutter.

I do hope you had a good day and evening.

Sunday Evening 1-15

2012-01-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

I am rather cold tonight. I had to put the temperature up this evening in the house. It was just too cold for me tonight even with a fleece jacket on. I hope it heats up quickly. It usually does.

I got up early for church today. We sang "Here I am to Worship". It is a very neat song. I really like it. I have liked all the songs that the choir director has picked for us. I am really enjoying being in the choir. I hope Katie is able to join. I think she would really like it a lot plus she is a good singer. After church I had Rick's lesson. Brianne didn't show up so I think her mother forgot about the lesson. Rick had a good lesson. He has 4 songs now that he is learning, one Italian, one English classical, one from Little Mermaid, and one Broadway. The theme for the spring concert this year is movies. The kids can dress up in costumes too if they want. It should be a lot of fun but that won't be until spring. Right now we are just working on regular music, not for the concert yet. That will start at the end of May.

I am watching a marathon of Law and Order SVU. I like this show a lot. It is an interesting marathon. The theme is legal loophole cases. I have seen most of them though but they are still super good.

I am really tired today. I did take a nap this afternoon. I just couldn't stay awake anymore so I went up and got my pajamas on and fell asleep. I will be heading back to bed soon. I think I am coming down with a cold too. My sinuses seem to be swollen. It is hard to breath. I have a bit of a bad headache today too. It is more than the regular headache. I hope it goes back to the normal headache by bedtime. I also hope I sleep better tonight since I am so tired.

Tomorrow I have a lesson at 3 pm. Isaac is going to be absent. His family is going skiing on the holiday. I hope they have a good time. I will still have Rachel though. She is such a sweetie. Two weeks ago she was so tired before lessons. She climbed on the piano bench and was lying on it like a cat does. Rachel did have a lesson but I am not sure how much she really absorbed. Last week was a better lesson. I hope she does well tomorrow too. She is such a cutie.

I hope your Sunday was good too.

the first snowfall to stick to the ground

2012-01-14T13:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I woke up to a winter wonderland! There was about 2 inches of snow on the ground. We have had brief snow falls, but they didn't stay on the ground and by the end of the day, it was totally gone. This one stuck. The sidewalks and the driveways are mostly cleared by now though because there really wasn't too much snow. It looked really pretty out yesterday. I realized today that I should have taken a picture of it. I will the next time and since we live in Michigan, I am so sure there will be a next time. I am thankful we haven't had the snow we had last year as we had so much snow. I am thankful that this year things have been rather mild. I am hoping for a rather mild winter, although just because it starts off slow doesn't mean we won't get the regular amount of snow. If we do, I am ready, well, as ready as I can be. My little red baby is in the garage safe from any snow falls. That is the biggest thing I am glad for, having my car in the garage. I won't have to scrap windows or clear off snow when I need to go somewhere. It really is a major blessing.

It was a quiet teaching day today, just my lovely Camille. She is in 4th grade and is doing really, really well. Camille is just a lovely student to have! Tomorrow is Rick and a make up for Brianne. I will be able to take a small nap after church before Brianne arrives. That will work out well.

My friend and former student, Kelly Lynn is coming by this evening. She is a newly graduated teacher. She is doing pretty well. I am so proud of her. I had her as a child for a student. I am face book friends with several former students. Face book is so great to reconnect with people. I have found some childhood friends, relatives, as well as the former students on face book. I also found some college friends too. That is a good thing. Well, anyway, Kelly Lynn is coming over and we will have some fun. I am hoping to go to bed a bit early since 6:45 comes super early in the morning! I love singing in the choir!

My craft kits have come in! i don't know which ones to make first? It is a rough decision as all of them are adorable. One is snowmen, trees, mittens, another is penguins, and the last is mittens with embroidery on them. I also need to start taking down the Christmas stuff. I am probably going to start that this evening after Kelly Lynn leaves. I am leaving some of the window clings on, the winter ones and I plan to get some Valentines Day ones too to put up. I know I have some. They are in Mom's closet so I will look to see what I have and what I need. I will have to get some new table cloths because I will have a round table now and not the oval ones so the table cloths I have won't fit my table. I don't mind getting new table cloths. i don't buy super expensive ones because I would be afraid to use them. They might get stained or something like that. I buy vinyl ones that have cute designs on them. I have about 3 table cloths I haven't used yet. They will be donated because I won't be able to use them with the new table.

Kelly Lynn should be here shortly. I do hope you are having a good day!

fancy new table and chairs!

2012-01-13T19:36:00.000-08:00

I have finally (and it took a lot to do this) have come to the conclusion (several of my friends have been mentioning this to me) that indeed, my lovely dining room table and chairs are, well, in need of replacement. This breaks my heart as I love the set but it is true. The chairs ALL need to be re-glued, the table needed to be tightened and probably needs it again, so I will have a new to me set on Monday. The chairs are already here. My friend, Heather B-T has bought it for me. It is a metal table with a glass top. The table is round and it comes with 4 chairs. The chairs are high back (which I really like) and the seat is of a pattern that I like. I can redo them if I want, but I don't at this time. They are cream color so they will go with the decor of the dining room and kitchen. I am so thankful for my friends getting me this new to me set because I do need it. I can't use any of the chairs for the old set since they all need to be re-glued. For me, I use my office chair in the dining room. I have one chair from the old set at the table, but no one usual sits there. I also had 2 folding chairs too since the other chairs can't be used. Now, I can use dining room chairs with the new to me table and chairs set. They are very pretty. I have no idea what my style for furniture is but hey, I don't really need to know right now anyway. I like the new to me set a lot. I will have to change the style of my table cloths though since the table is round and all my table cloths are for an oval table.

My all time favorite movie is coming back out into theatres but in 3D. I have trouble with 3D because I don't like things coming at me in my face. I have seen some of the nature 3D movies in the IMAX and haven't had a problem with that so I am hoping that since this movie was not originally done as a 3D movie that it won't be so bad for me. I am planning to go and see it with my Muglia girls in a few weeks. I am not sure how long it will be in the movie theatre and if I miss it that will be okay. I love Beauty and the Beast! It is a great movie. Belle is my favorite Princess and my 2nd favorite character that Disney has created. We all know that Winnie the Pooh is my all time favorite character. He is the best one ever. I have several plush and beanie Winnie the Poohs. They are in different outfits, which is why I have so many. I have Christmas ones, Winter ones, big ones, little ones, and regular ones. I have a Christmas Barbie Belle doll too. Momma gave it too me at Christmas one year. I like it a lot. I also have a Cinderella Doll that Mom bought me too. Cinderella is my 2nd favorite Princess.

Last night in choir we sight read a beautiful piece called, "Use Me". It was simply lovely. The choir accompanies 2 soloists - 1 male and 1 female. I am really enjoying being a member of this choir. The church service is different than what I am used to but I am enjoying the change. I like the congregational singing part of the service. The service goes quickly it seems. The messages are always making me think and examine my own life and my actions. It has really helped me a lot.

Tomorrow I am meeting a fellow teacher who happens to be a former student of mine! She is new to teaching and has a few questions. I don't mind and it makes me feel good that I can help her. I did ask her to call and let me know when she is coming because the weather is supposed to be a bit iffy tomorrow. We did set a time frame so that is why I ask for her to call first, this way I won't worry.

I am going to work on the kitchen this weekend. I have several boxes that are now empty and need to be broken down for another use. I also want to take down the Christmas Tree and put the decorations away. I have a few boxes in the dining room that need to be taken care of too. I will put the tools in the tool box and the rest of the stuff in the furnace room on the shelves. I know there isn't much room left in the furnace room, but these will fit, I am sure.

Next Saturday, Calli and I are going grocery shopping. That should be fun. Calli is so fun to go grocery shopping with. We have many good giggles while we shop. I have quite a list this time. I am working on eating at home more often. I have some yummy soups that I add some chicken and vegetables too to make it more of a stew type thing. I like stews, whether it is a beef stew or chicken stew. I also like to add some seafood to it. I start with a nice potato soup and then add a few things to make it yummier, if that is possible! I have some other type soups from that same brand that are really good too. With winter here, I don't always like to go outside each day. I am cold most of the time and it is cold here for the next few days. My new blankets shed. I have brown specks from the blankets all over my pajama top. I am not sure what to do about this.

I only have 1 lesson tomorrow and 2 lessons on Sunday. 1 of them is a make up lesson for tomorrow as Brianne has an exam to take for school. The other Sunday lesson is Rick. He goes back and forth between lessons on Saturday or Sunday depending on his schedule. Either day works for me. I come home from church and take a wee nap in the living room while I wait for him to arrive. I am planning on being at church this Sunday. I am really going to be working on making sure I am there every week. It is super early for me, but I feel so much better when I start my week with church on Sunday. Mom used to say that and I never really understood what she meant until the last few months. My week seems to be better when I go to church every week. I am trying to be more dedicated and make sure I go every week.

I do hope you have had a good day and have plans for a fun filled weekend. I just want to get a few things done around the house and teach a few lessons, that will make me happy.

wednesday - 1-11

2012-01-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

It is Wednesday! Woohoo!

I had to go and pick up some new music for my students. I also stopped at Barnes and Nobles to get a new planner. I don't like the one I got so I got a new one. It was only $5.80. It was definitely a bargain. I have a nice new calendar to put up. I got it from Kathy. It is Harry Potter! I am sure absolutely no one is surprised about it being a Harry Potter. I like it.

It has been a quiet day with a few lessons. I did go and get my blood test done for my pro-time. I was about 15 minutes late because I was so tired that I reset the alarm for 20 minutes. I knew that being late was okay as long as I don't miss it totally. It only took 1 poke today! That is a great thing since I am a very hard poke. A few times ago, I ended up having to come back a couple days later. Since I also needed the flu shot too, it wasn't a big deal. Fortunately, that happens very rare.

I have most of my bills in my new bill file. I am really working on being very organized with my bills this year. No more tossing them on the table behind my computer for this girl! I found a few discs in books on the table for teaching. I will burn them some time this weekend. My Muglia girls are going to come sometime later this month to file and sort music. I will also be putting the CDs away too. I am thankful that they will help me. I also have a lady coming to help me clean the house once a month. I am thankful for that. I hope it doesn't cost that much money. It will be tight. I probably should have asked her to come the week after because I would have been paid from takelessons at that point. It will work out somehow, I know it will. I will also be able to make a good payment on the property taxes 2011. It starts all over again except I have more time to pay before the deadline. Soon, I will be caught up and will just be saving for the current year's bill. It will be a nice relief.

We haven't really had any snow this winter, which is kind of weird for Michigan. We have had a few snowfalls, but none that stayed on the ground very long. We are supposed to be getting some tomorrow as it gets colder this weekend. We have had rather warm weather for January and in December too. I haven't really minded because people drive crazy in the snow. My car is in the garage now so I won't have to wipe any snow off. I am very glad about that. I need to take some time to clean my car windows. They are not so good right now. I always forget about them until I am driving.

Tomorrow is a filled day with choir practice and a few lessons. I will be a bit late for choir because of a make up lesson tomorrow night. I have let the choir director know this. Since I am rarely late, it shouldn't be a problem. I am not sure what we are singing this week. I guess I will find out tomorrow night.

more progress 1-10

2012-01-10T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today is a good day! Today is Kathy's birthday!!!! I made sure I called her to wish her a happy birthday. I finally got to speak with her before my first lesson. She is getting the Ultimate Edition of one of the Harry Potter Movies. I am very excited to hear about that! I can't wait to hear if it is awesome or not. Part of me is hoping it isn't very good or worth purchasing because then I will want them. What can I say? I love Harry Potter! I guess I should just add this to the list of things I want: a blue ray player, nook color, and all the Harry Potter Ultimate Movie Collections. The list of wants. I am working on other things first, but I still have some things I want. Compared to things I used to want, I think the list is rather small. I feel relived that the property taxes for 2010 have been taken care of. I am now starting on the 2011 property taxes.

Tomorrow is my blood test, 2 weeks past due since I slept through the last appointment and forgot to make it all last week. I will be working on this for 2012 so that I am on top of this issue. They are important because I have to have my blood in "therapeutic range" so that I don't get another blood clot. I really don't want another one. They hurt an awful lot and well, you can die from them so I don't particularly want another one. I am going to work on making sure I do what I am supposed to do such as NOT sleeping through appointments. I have done this way too much in the last few years. I also have another test that I have been putting off. I will do it this week. I go see the tummy doctor in March so I have to have it done soon. She did ask to have it done by Christmas. Woops, Christmas was a few weeks again and I haven't done this yet. I also will make sure I do NOT run out of medicine like I have been. I will no longer wait until I am almost completely out before calling in the refills. I will call when i notice there is just one week left of medicine. This way, if the refills are out, they have time to call the doctor and fill it. This way, I will not run out anymore as I have a lot in the past few years.

I cleared off the dining room table and it doesn't look like I did much. Yeah, I don't know. I haven't touched the kitchen counter yet. That looks rather scary too. I think I will look at that tomorrow before lessons, after the blood test.

Dance Moms is on and so is NCIS Los Angeles. I will watch NCIS Los Angeles online afterwards. It is annoying that I have 2 shows I like at the same time on. Oh my! I don't know what is on afterward but I am sure I will find something. Boy, my typing isn't so good tonight. I keep having to go back and fix words. Dance Moms are having auditions to replace the girl who moved away. Once again, there is trouble. One mom doesn't like that her daughter didn't make the team so she was yelling at the director. Well, welcome to the world of dance. Dance is a VERY subjective art and believe me, the performing arts are filled with things like this. It is the same type thing in music. I work very hard to make sure I DON'T favor over another when it comes to performances and competitions as well as lessons. Most of the music teachers I know do the same thing as me although at competition, I have seen the stage mom and the stage teacher at competition and they are such a distraction. I will say though, these girls dance beautifully at such young ages. They really do.

I have to remember to send in copy of my mother's death certificate to one doctor's office. I keep forgetting to send it to them. They keep sending me bills. I have called them over and over to tell them, but they keep sending me the bills 1 1/2 years later. It is very frustrating.

I am looking for a new planner. I am not happy with the one I bought. I really am not. I have to go to Office Max tomorrow after the doctor's appointment. I hope I remember to do this! Well, I hope your day went well and tomorrow is good too!

Monday 1-9

2012-01-09T19:18:00.000-08:00

It is the start of another week. I wonder what this week will bring me. It could be almost anything. I have been working on the getting the judges for the competition. I have a few more names to call, so does Georgette. I am not sure how this is going to work with both of us calling, but I am not sure. This is not an easy job because I don't know the schedule and that makes it hard. I don't get the schedule until next month so I have to leave them in limbo until then. Also, I just found out one of the judges Diane doesn't really want. Well, since we are running short on judges, we may need to keep her. She sounds really nice too. She gave me the names of about 3 other judges to call. I will do that tomorrow. It is too late to call tonight.

I am getting tired now, almost time for bed! I do hope I sleep well tonight. I have to remember to call Dr. Gradolph's office to make my blood test appointment. I keep forgetting to do that. I also have to make a payment for Doctor Grandolph. I don't want to forget again. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm out again. Although it was warm outside, I was still a bit chilled during Bob's lesson. I wonder why. I hope tomorrow will be better. It is supposed to be colder and snow starting on Thursday. They say nothing will stick and I hope they are right. I am not interested in snow on the ground right now. We are having the strangest weather right now. I like how it isn't super cold out right now though. I know it is January and this won't last, but I will take it until then.

I am rather bored this evening. TV isn't really interesting at this point. I have HGTV on, but I am not really watching it. I am reading a good book, but right now I don't really want to read it. I think I am just too tired for that. I love the new blankets on my bed along with my new pajamas. Between the two of them, I am very comfortable at night for now anyway.

I do hope you had a good day. I think I am going to read for a bit and then call it a day.

A quiet Sunday 1-8

2012-01-08T18:03:00.000-08:00

Eight days into the new year! Wow, time is flying (as usual) by. I wasn't feeling so good this morning so I didn't go to church. I also had to take a nap this afternoon (late afternoon) and I am still super tired today. I think this is telling me I have enough students and any more will be too much for me. I think it is a big reminder to pace myself better. I don't think I paced myself very well this last week. I will be more mindful of it this week. I really have to be careful of Thursdays as that is a jammed packed day with lessons and choir practice. Thank goodness Friday is a quieter day.

I have been reading a lot of Danielle Steele novels again. I get them at the used bookstore. I also like Bertrice Small, Catherine Coulter, and Katherine Stone. I also have rediscovered Sidney Sheldon. I read a bit every day, some days more than other. I like to read. It is all my mother's fault I like to read. He he he!!! It is thanks to her I can read. Mom's hard work, and trust me, it was very, very hard for me. I remember crying a lot during the first week saying I was too dumb to learn this. I was just stupid. Well, we all know that mom did not think I was stupid. Now it is a breeze and I love it. Mom had problem with reading in that if she sat still too long, she would fall asleep. I took her to Les Miserables years ago and she had a rough time staying awake. I remember bumping her leg a lot. She said she heard everything during the show, she just didn't see everything. This happened a lot when she sat still. We went to a lot of shows together (both theatre and movies) and many a time i had to bump her leg to wake her up. Poor Momma, she just couldn't stay awake a lot of the time. Even when we would watch TV downstairs in the family room with our feet up, she would fall asleep. I can still picture her sitting in her dressing gown with her comforter around her and her feet propped up falling asleep watching TV with her. It makes me smile to think about her. so anyways, I have been reading a lot these days. I have a few new movies that were on sale at Walmart this past week. I got Oliver and Company, Lion King, and Bambi II. I plan to watch them sometime in the future.

I was going to take the Christmas decorations down today but I was so tired I didn't. I will start doing that tomorrow. I am going to ask Charlie or Bob to take down the garland in the dining room and the hallway. I had to get a new Storage Tote for my ornaments. I knew that I would need a new one when I pulled out the new box of Disney ornaments. I love my Disney ornaments. Mom and I were huge Disney Characters fans. We love the animated movies and TV shows. It is funny because when I was a baby (or so I had been told) I was introduced to Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck as well Minnie Mouse. I really liked them (we had the plush toys) and wanted to play with them a lot along with my dolls. (I loved my dolls!!) Well, after a bit, Mom got a hold of a Winnie the Pooh stuffed toy. She introduced me to Winnie the Pooh. Much to her surprise, I didn't want anything to do with Mickey and friends anymore. I ONLY wanted Winnie the Pooh! She said she would bring out Mickey or Minnie and I would look at it and say, "Want Pooh." She tried to get me interested in the others, but I just wasn't. Mom only had herself to blame though, after all, she introduced me to Winnie the Pooh. To this day, I am a Winnie the Pooh girl, through and through! When I got really sick and we went to Disney for the first time since I had been super sick, she bought me a new Winnie the Pooh. I thought I was ruining her vacation because I had to go and take a nap in the afternoon everyday. I was so tired. I had to ride in a scooter for the first time ever but Mom said she knew I would need to rest more. That was why we had gotten a 6 day pass instead of 4 days. Mom said I wasn't ruining anything. She didn't mind the extra stuff we had to do. It made me feel good. On the first full day I took a nap, I woke up to see this Winnie the Pooh dressed in an Animal Kingdom Outfit staring at me. It was from Mom. We bought a few other Winnie the Pooh beanies dressed as other characters that trip. We had a great time. It was the 100th birthday of Disney so that was shy we had to go. I mean, we had to celebrate Walt Disney's birthday! Mom and I loved the same rides and the shows. We really had a good time together when we were there. We also went to St. Augustine, Kennedy Space Center, and Key West that trip. It was because I knew Mom would always have a good time at Disney and remember she had a good time that we went so much near the end of her life. Yes, we could have gone other places for vacation, but new things scared her. I didn't think she was as scared being there because she remembered us being there when we were young. Mom always had a smile on her face when we were at Disney. From the moment we woke up and I told her where we were to when we went to bed. She loved Disney. Peter Pan was one of her favorite rides so we always had to go on that one a few times. I LOVE it's a small world. When I was 5, we went to Disney World. Those days there was only the Magic Kingdom. I remember going through it and loving it. I had been told that I wanted to go through it several times until I knew the song by heart. Mom took me while my brothers went with my dad to ride other things. Momma bought me the little 45 record of It's a Small World. I sang it's a small world the entire drive home. All 2 days of it! I think I drove my family crazy by singing it over and over and over. Since I sang all the time, Momma could tune me out, but I am not sure if my brothers were so thrilled with it. It makes me laugh now thinking about it. As soon as Mom learned (from the Disney TV show) that Disney World was open, she made plans for us to go the next summer and we did. Mom and I have both been to Disney World 13 times. Out of the 13 times, 11 times we went together, some with the other parts of family and some with friends. I would like to go again but it won't be for a few years.

Anyways, this is getting rather long and I have noticed that Blogspot cuts out parts of your post if it is too long. I do hope you had a good day and will have a wonderful night!

Saturday Already???? 1-7

2012-01-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

It is hard for me to believe, but it is true, it is Saturday already!!! For some reason this week has been so exhausting for me. I am not sure why. It could be so many things that I can't even guess so I won't.

I made a few phone calls for judges today. I left 2 messages and I spoke to 2 teachers who are interested in judging for us! Yeah, now I need a few more. Ugh. I have most of the vocal judges at this time, I believe. I will totally look at my chart tomorrow when my head seems a bit more clear. I hope the 2 that I left messages for will be able to judge for us otherwise I am out of options. I have no more options of what to do. I have exhausted my supply of judges and where to find judges. This is a very hard job and I will never do it again. I just won't. It is too stressful. Next year, I will be doing the program though so I won't have to do the judges. I love doing programs. I really do. I have a lot of fun with it.

I am not doing a whole lot this evening. I am pretty exhausted this week for some reason, much more than usual. I have had more issues with night sweats this week too. I am not sure what is going on, but something is. I hope it clears up and goes back to the regular exhaustion and not this new more exhaustion.

Katie had her lesson this afternoon. The new student, adult male, didn't show up. Somehow, I was not surprised. I really wasn't. I had a feeling he wouldn't be showing up. I have this happen a lot with new adult students. Either they don't show up or don't last very long. I am thankful Rick is back and interested in his lessons. He is coming tomorrow for his lesson. That will be fun. I will have to think of something new for him in his Broadway book and his Young Singer Book. Classical is a piece of cake to come up with something new. I know the songs so well in the book, but I haven't had much male singers that I don't know the Broadway book as well or the Young Singer book. Camille had her lesson too. She is doing very well. She really is. I think she was a bit nervous when her Dad came in because she was playing softer than usual. He usually sits in the car and talks on the phone. He only came in at the end of the lesson. I really like this young lady. She is quite a neat person. She is quite talented too. I am planning to move her to the Snell books at the end of the books she is in right now. I think the Snell books would be best for her. I really do. I also need to pull out some movie music for her. i need to do that for everyone. I will work on it tomorrow when I am finished with Rick's lesson.

I ordered two Christmas Felt Ornament Kits from my favorite craft store, Mary Maxim. They have a store in Port Huron, but I just don't have a lot of time to go and see what they have. I also ordered another of the kit I was working on when they were donated. I didn't think I would ever be able to finish them or see that kit again. I am glad I looked on Amazon. That is where I found it.

I also found on Amazon the ultimate editions of Harry Potter Movies. I hope to be able to purchase one a month until I have them all. Right now there are only up to movie 6 which isn't surprising since movie 7A and 7B were just released on DVD/Blue Ray. I expect that soon they will be available. I am saving up for a Blue Ray player for the downstairs. I will keep the DVD player upstairs in the dining room and watch the Blue Rays downstairs. I have to work on clearing the table tomorrow after Rick's lessons. I also have a pile of papers on a couple of boxes too. I have a few boxes of tools to go through and put the tools in the new tool box. The rest of the stuff is either good or to be thrown out. I will put the good stuff in the furnace room with the other tools and storage stuff. I will also take down the Christmas decorations tomorrow too if I feel up to it. I am not feeling so good tonight. I don't really know why. Silly fibro, anything can happen and usually does.

I hope you are having a good day. The weather is very warm for January. I am not minding it at all. I know the cold is coming but I will enjoy the warm will I can.

It's Friday! 1-6 - the 12th day of Christmas

2012-01-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

It is the traditional 12th day of Christmas. In the past, this was a very important day in the year. Families would give gifts on this day not Christmas. Christmas was for going to church and being with family. 12th night was for the gift giving and partying. when I was small, I learned about 12th night from my mom. I learned even more by reading about it. We have a tradition in our house (more of Mom's tradition, rather than mine) that you start the year with a clean house, debt free, and grudge free. It seemed that the day or two after Christmas all the Christmas decorations would be down and put away. Mine are still up. this is a Scottish tradition. My Mom's side of the family came to Canada from Scotland, the Hebrides (I am not sure how to spell it). They were tailors. My father's side of the family were from England, immigrated from Scotland. We think that my mother's family may have moved to Scotland from Ireland at one time. My father's family were Merchant Mariners, otherwise known as pirates. Yup, I am from pirate stock. I come from tailors and pirates, a rather odd combination, but that is the way it is. One year, in the future, I want to have a 12th night party. If I had the house in order, I would have done this tonight, but I am not ready for entertaining on a bigger scale. Okay, I am not ready at all right now. Give me a few more months to get the house more in order and then we will talk.

I have a busy day tomorrow. Julian, my temporary student, is coming for not only her regular lesson, but for a make up lesson too so she will be here for about 1 1/2 hours. It should be fun. My Katie is going to have her lesson tomorrow as well as Rick! Rick has been away for 2 months and I am so glad he is getting back into singing. I am really glad about that. I wasn't sure if he would come back or not. I am glad he did. I really am. I was going to give him a call when he called that day. I will also be going through papers on the dining room table this weekend. I have some photo albums that need to be put away. Some of them will go upstairs to Mom's room. I still think of that room as hers. I know it is a guest room now. I don't want to move into it, although I know I could. I happen to really like my room a lot. Yes, there is more room in that room, but I really like how my room is the coldest in the upstairs. Because I have a problem with night sweats, having the colder room is best. Mom's room gets to hot at times so I will stay in my room. My old room, the other guest room, is actually going to become an office for me. This will be too cool. I will have a music storage room downstairs and a have an awesome office upstairs. Right now there is Mom's filing cabinet and her army stuff on the table in it. There are some boxes up there too that eventually I will need to go through.

I went and got my hair done tonight. My shoulder hasn't been very good lately so I have had to go back to the hairdressers to wash and dry it. I am growing my hair out again so that I can donate the hair. I have done this before. this will be the 3rd time I have done this. I don't want to have super short hair so I will grow it out longer than usual so I can still put my hair up. I like ponytails and where my hair up in one almost everyday. I just really like it.

I am having trouble getting judges for piano for competition. It is driving me crazy. I know Diane and Georgette are getting very worried as competition is in 7 weeks. Well, I am doing the best that I can do. All the entry forms are due next Tuesday. I have 2 and possibly 3 going. I haven't heard from the one since October so I am not sure if she is still going or not. I am not happy that I haven't seen her since then, but there isn't anything I can do about it. Since I haven't seen her since then, I don't know if she is going.

I am glad that it is Friday. It was a good day. All the students did very well and are improving. Emily and I tried something rather new for her. I had her learn one hand at a time instead of doing both hands at the same time. This would make sure she knew both hands before she put them together. Acer students did very well and are improving. Emily and I tried something rather new for her. I had her learn one hand at a time instead of doing both hands at the same time. This would make sure she knew both hands before she put them together. Acer finished one of his songs for piano. Calli is learning 2 songs for voice. I totally forgot she was learning the Italian one! Yeah, that was not good but fortunately she just kind of laughed and reminded me of it. I have not so good Brain Fog tonight. I have a couple of relatives who joke about having Brain Fog but I don't find it amusing. It is very real and happens a lot to me. That they joke around about it makes me not want to be with them too much. I don't make fun of them with their illnesses or symptoms, but they seem to think it is okay to laugh at mine. This is another reason I don't hang out too often with many relatives. There are only a few relatives I want to be around at this point. Unfortunately, the ones I want to live very far away now so I don't get to see them to often but I enjoy being with them when I do see them. Speaking of relatives, my cousin, Samantha turned 23 a couple of days ago (on the 3rd to be exact!). I remember her from when she was small. When I was healthier, I would take her and her older sister, Celia, camping. I really loved being with them and now they are both grown up and in Celia's case, she has 2 children of her own. Samantha graduated last June and is now working. It seems like yesterday she was toddling around with me. I have many really good memories of the two of them.

I am heading to bed soon. I hope your day was good too.

Thursday 1-5

2012-01-05T19:46:00.000-08:00

It was a rather busy day. I had a few lessons then it was a fast dinner followed by choir practice. We met a bit earlier than usual and we ended earlier too. We had a sub director tonight so maybe that was why. It was fun no matter how early we ended. Carolyn, my neighbor, was also there as well as our friend, Audrey. She is about 28 to 30 years old and is starting culinary school in about 2 weeks. Carolyn is 16 and is a wonderful young lady. I like everyone I have met in choir. One of the men, Mark - I think that is his name, has a granddaughter who has had the same operation I had! She is 11 and has scoliosis just like me and just like me, the curve was too far to have a brace, surgery was the only option. It has been 3 weeks since she had the surgery and she is up and doing pretty well. I was very pleased to hear that. I hope this first year goes quickly for her because a year of no twisting at the waist is very difficult, I know, I have been there. I had a difficult time with it, but I did survive.

I watched Project Runway All Stars and it was interesting. Now 24 hour catwalk is on. It is another weird fashion competition. This one has 4 contestants and 2 of them get the chance to make an ENTIRE collection in 24 hours. I just would not be able to do that. then again, I can't draw. I can take a dress from a picture in a magazine and create something close to it. I have done that for some of my friends for homecoming and prom. Now that I have a sewing room, I will hopefully start sewing again. In a few weeks I will go to the Mary Maxim store to pick up a few kits. I can't this week because I have to pay the mortgage and a few other bills. Sometime in the next month or two I will go.

Tomorrow I have Calli, Acer, and Emily. Calli is working on Minuet in G by Bach. Acer is working on a song called "Om Pa Pa". It is from the Alfred Basic Piano Series level 1B. He is working pretty hard right now trying to use his thumbs more often and not sliding his fingers from one key to the next. I am happy with what he is doing. Emily is doing alright. She is having trouble memorizing her notes. If I start her on the proper sentence, she can read her notes, but if I don't, she isn't sure what to do. I had hoped that at this point she would know her notes better. I have to think of something new to do with her to help her.

I am tired now as it is getting a bit late. I will be heading to bed shortly. I look forward to my students tomorrow. I also am going to be working on getting rid of the boxes in the kitchen. I have two boxes that have my stuffed animals in them. I will be bringing them upstairs tomorrow. I have another box in the garage to bring in and unwrap everything. There are a few things that will go in my room and the rest in my mother's room. I have a few picture frames that need pictures in it.

It has been a nice day, a bit of a bad headache this afternoon and night, but not super duper bad, just a bit bad. I hope yours has been a good one.

Wednesday - mid week 1-4

2012-01-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

The New year is 4 days old today. I am simply exhausted tonight. I am done teaching for the evening and I am now relaxing in the dining room watching TV. I think I will definitely be heading to bed early tonight. I have choir practice tomorrow night. I haven't been in a couple of weeks because of Christmas and new years but I will be there tomorrow and at church on Sunday. I wonder what we will be singing. I shall find out tomorrow. I wonder if Katie will be able to be there. I guess I will find that out tomorrow too.

Other than a few lessons, I can't say I did a whole lot. My new little ones did so well. The 3 of them split an hour so that leaves 20 minutes each which is working really well for them. Two of them are only 4 and they are doing so well with only 2 lessons! If only my other 4 year old would too. I am not sure of him. he and his brother (who is 5) are having a difficult time with finger numbers. The older one is doing alright with some notes, but I am not sure how he will do when he starts reading notes. The problem is that they don't practice at home and at this age, that is not recommended because eventually it is going to get too hard. I am worried about them. I am not sure they are going to last too long without starting to practice.

I don't have too many plans for the weekend except for going through some paperwork on the table. I have to mail a paper to the IRS for the store. They LOST the one I sent. I sent 2 papers at the same time and they got the first one, but somehow lost the 2nd. I have no idea how that happens, but it did. Then I found out that I should have sent them separately. Oh my. What can I say? I get so confused with the IRS. I haven't heard back from the IRS lawyer over Mom's tax issues either. I need to email him tomorrow because it has been almost 10 months since this started. Wow, that is a long time but I guess the IRS moves slowly.

I asked the girls (Muglia's) if they could come over and help me file the music that is in piles in my office. Julie and I are going to take the bed out of the one room and make it my office. The downstairs office will be just where I store music and a few other things. I like that idea a lot although I will need another lamp for upstairs. Originally, the upstairs room was an office for Mom and I but then Andrew moved back in and he needed the room to sleep in. I will have one guest room and then my room plus an office.

I am not feeling very well tonight. My concentration seems to be not so good tonight. I have this problem a lot. I get Brain Fog so easy. It is almost time for bed. I hope I am not so tired tomorrow. We shall see!

I hope your day has been good too.

Tuesday, 1-3

2012-01-03T19:47:00.000-08:00

It was a rather busy day today. I had to go and pick up some music for my students. While I was there I had to order some music because they were out. I don't need them until next week, but I had hoped to have it all in order by this weekend. I do hope the music comes in soon. After teaching, I went to a meeting with the subdivision. I am on the board of directors of my homeowners association. It is fun and I get to see my neighbors. I had no idea where the house was tonight though so I had to call my other neighbor. I had the address, but I couldn't see the addresses at night. I did find it though thanks to Barbara Jean. She was walking over to the house and I could see her. Silly me! Next month the meeting is at my house. I don't usually volunteer but the house is coming along so well that I am proud to have my neighbors come over. I will put the leaves in the dining room table to have enough seats for everyone. I think there are 2 folding chairs in the furnace room. I know I have two more. I am hoping that the dining room chairs are fixed by then. I just thought about that. That is another 3 chairs. I should have enough by then. We did decide to have a block party this year. We even picked a date for it and a back up date incase of rain. I haven't been to a block party since I was a child. I was never really interested as a young adult, but I think it would be fun this year.

I have another busy day tomorrow. I am looking forward to being busier than I used to be. I have plenty of time to rest included though so I pace myself very well. So far, it is working out quite well. I have my lessons with rests in between. Yes, it takes up potential lesson time, but since I only teach a few, it is okay. I am not going to fill that time up anyway so it works out for me. I am almost up to my limit of what I can take for teaching. I won't go over it because that would be too much for me. I get exhausted so quickly and then I don't feel very well either so that would be bad. Once that cycle starts, oh my, then the ER visits kick in. I am just not going to go there this year if I can help it. i don't want to get into that crash and burn cycle again. I really don't. It is such a hard thing to deal with when it happens.

I am watching Extreme Couponing All Stars. It is insane. They take two extreme couponer and have them compete against each other. They have 30 minutes to shop and whoever has the highest percent of savings wins. I am amused by these shows for some reason. At least these shows benefit the food banks so that is really good. I don't usual have good luck with many coupons because quite often the sale prices are often lower than what I have for a coupon. They can even pre-order the items. Usually, the coupon shopper takes almost all day to shop and go through the check out. I have even watched episodes where they have to break up their order into 35 little orders. I don't know why, but they are entertaining to me.

Anyways, some shows are just crazy and entertaining all at the same time. I often have the TV on at night while I am on the computer. I don't know if I can just sit and watch TV and not do anything. i plan to get a couple of sewing projects in order for next Christmas. I plan to go to the Mary Maxim store this month to get a few kits. I have to replace the kits that were donated without me knowing. I don't need as many, but I do want a couple. I will only get a couple at a time. I love sewing. I hope I can sew after I get them. I was unable to make my students' presents because every time I went to sew, I would remember how mom and I sewed together and that would make me cry so I am going to start small with these kits.

I hope your day was good too.

The New Year has begun 1-2-12

2012-01-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

I only had 1 lesson this evening, my handsome boy, Isaac. He had a good Christmas and New Year's. His Dad has some cousins up north so they went to visit them and to go skiing. I am so glad he had a great time. I miss skiing. I used to love to go skiing, but with the new medicine, I can't go, but that is actually okay as I think I am too big to go now. I could break something and that would be bad. Bob had to reschedule as he is just recovering from being very ill this weekend. He is coming on Wednesday instead, which works out just perfect.

I have to pick up some music tomorrow for my new students. These ones are from the online company. There are 3 of them. I have to pick up some other books for a couple of my other students too. I will pick them up tomorrow when I go to the music store. I have written down what I need including the number of books I need of each. This way I will not make the same mistake I did last time. Next week my 3 new ones will be starting. It should be a good January with not many absences planned at this time since there is no big holidays. Tuesdays are my light days at this time. Thursdays are booked completely now. Wednesdays are pretty booked too. I have left spaces open to rest when I need to. I won't get to the point where I am getting sick again and will end up back in the hospital. I only had 1 visit to the ER in 2011 and I would like to make 2012 a hospital free year, that is my goal. I need that this year. I was very lucky though because I owed the hospital a little bit of money from my last few ER visits. I called the hospital to see if I could get a smaller monthly payment. I had to send in some papers and then I got a letter stating that the hospital foundation paid the ENTIRE balance that I owed! Talk about a cool blessing! This included the last ER bill. They didn't even send me the latest bill, they just paid it. It was very helpful to me.

This week I will be organizing what I need to do for the year. I have some of the things on my 2011 list left, but many are crossed off. It makes me feel good that they are slowly getting done. I am so thankful to Julie and Ross because they have helped a lot. It is nice because they ASK what I want and what I don't unlike the previous help I had. I have gotten rid of many things in the family room. I love how my family room looks so far. I am planning to put pictures up on the walls this summer. I am not sure which pictures I will put up, but I will find some. I know that there are some really good pictures in the box under the shuffle board. So far, there is no plans to move it. Right now it is on the sewing side of the room. It isn't in the way like I thought it would be. I am glad about that. I will decide later what to do with it. I have the exercise equipment I don't want in the middle of the room in front of the fireplace. My machine that I am keeping is in its place ready for me to use. I plan to start this week. I hope I can work up to 30 minutes eventually. Right now, I think I am up to a minute, if that.

It has been a decent day especially with Isaac's lesson. I do hope your day was good too.

New Year's Day

2012-01-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

It is 2012. Wow, what will this year be like? I have no idea. I was supposed to go to the movies this afternoon with the Muglia girls, unfortunately, 4 out of 9 have the flu so no movie for us. We will go another day, perhaps next week. I want to see the new Chipmunk movie. It looks really cute. I also want to see the Muppets movie, but I probably won't be able to see that one until it is on DVD. Then again, you never know. I hope next weekend or the weekend after we can go.

What is your New Year's Resolution? I am not sure what I will be working on. I really don't know. I don't feel as if I am in survival mode like I was but I don't feel completely out of it either.

I have to work on the newsletter for our subdivision. I have one article for it already from Jerry, my neighbor. He fixes exercise equipment and since many people make their resolution to lose weight and exercise more. I will start working on the newsletter tomorrow. There isn't much happening this month in the sub, but that is okay.

Law and Order:SVU is having a marathon right now. I have watched about 2 1/2 episodes so far. I do like this because I haven't seen any of the ones that I have watched. I was going to watch Harry Potter, but this caught my eye first. All the Harry Potters are still on sale. I am debating on whether or not to get the Ultimate Editions. They have special features that aren't on other versions. It is very tempting but I do have other things to pay for at this time so they are not high on my list right now.

It has been such a lazyish day, with the exception of doing my laundry! I have clothes for the week now. I have to work on the paperwork on my table and in my box this week. Most of the stuff on the table has been accounted for, I have a few papers to mail and then put the boxes away. The house is coming along nicely and I am pleased with how it looks.

I do hope your New Year's Day has been very good, I got some laundry done so I am glad about that.

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T22:42:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe, but it is here, New Year's Eve. I will be with Calli, Acer, Heather, and Bill this evening. I am looking forward to it. It should be a lot of fun. Calli and I love to play Uno so I anticipate a few games of Uno between the 2 of us. I am not sure what else we will play, but it will be fun. That is for sure.

Well, I have to go now. More later after I come home!

I am home again! Happy New Year!!!! I had a LOT of fun at the Bowman-Tomlinson house. Calli and I played Uno, then we all played Apples to Apples, Would You Rather, and finally the kids, Brandon, and I played another game that the name totally escapes me. It was a lot of fun. It really was. I was home by about 12:45 am. I don't like to be on the road too late on this night because of crazy drivers. There were a lot of drivers on the road when I was. I was only about 2 to 3 miles from home so this was a short drive, but I was surprised how many people were on the road at that time.

The kids are so fun to play games with. Acer and Calli both are a lot of fun to play games with. Their cousin Brandon was over (he is a college student now). He also, is fun to play games with. Right after our bubbly (sparkling juice), the kids headed right to bed. They did come down for hugs but then right back upstairs to bed. I left rather shortly after. We did miss the countdown on TV this year, but it wasn't a big deal. Acer was cute though, no, I don't want to do a countdown. (We did one anyway and he joined us). Acer is getting so big now. I was so proud of his practicing these last couple of weeks. He is learning not to scoot his fingers from key to key and to use his thumb more. I am glad he is taking that very seriously. I heard him practice with some compositions he has written. I think he has finally figured out that the more complicated songs that he learns with me, the more complicated songs he can make up. He is really doing much better and I have told him so. Some of the melodies he makes up are quite pretty. Acer very well may be a composer some day. You just never know with the young man. If he can make pretty melodies at just turned 7, what will he be able to do at 17? With Calli, she has a vocal range like an adult. As a matter of fact, she has a wider ranger than any of my singers. Can you just imagine what she will be able to sing when she is older and her voice matures? It is such a joy to see ALL my students develop and grow musically. It really is the best job. I actually think now that it is a good thing I can only teach part time. This allows me to put all my energy into the few lessons a day I have and not spread out the energy over lots of students for the day. I did not feel this way at first, let me tell you. I was disappointed that I couldn't handle as many as I used to, but now, I see the silver lining in it. I still get to teach and can manage my illnesses much better.

My goal for the next week is to get my Power of Attorney Health Advocate papers signed and copied then sent to the people who need them. I will also get my regular Power of Attorney papers in order too. I have a couple of keys to copy and then my emergency papers are all in place. With the seriousness of some of the illnesses I have had, I should have had this done a long, long, long time ago. When Mom was better and could remember things, she was a big help, but even then I should have had things in place, but I didn't. My theory is, if the papers are in order, I won't need them. I hope not anyway. I was very lucky in 2011, only 1, yes 1, ER trip and that was for the dizziness issue I was having. I think I have fixed it mostly. I was able to hold off a couple of crash and burns by resting a lot when i felt my body go into that mode. It used to be that I would end up in the hospital over it. I also was lucky that I haven't had to cancel too many lessons because of bad headaches or flares. When my legs were in the flare, I just stayed in the living room in between lessons if I had a break between them.

I am supposed to go to the movies with my lovely Muglia girls tomorrow. We shall see because a few of them are not feeling so good. I talked to their Mom earlier today. I told her to see how the girls were feeling and if they weren't feeling too well, we would just postpone it, not a problem. We will still see the Chipmunk movie, we just may not be able to see it tomorrow. Yes, I am disappointed by hey, kids (and people in general) get sick. It happens. For all I know, I could come down with something. I am feeling okay right now, but you never know. If I don't see the movie tomorrow, then I will take down the Christmas decorations and put them away in the new tote that I have. I will also leave the lights on the tree and wrap the tree in the big plastic garbage bag I have. I am planning to store it in the garage. With the big bag over it, I figure it will keep the bugs out of it. I love how my friend, Heather B-T put the lights on it. I really do. They look so beautiful. I also love my Disney ornaments. It was kind of funny that I got comments on how my friends were not surprised to see a Disney Tree. Mom taught me well.

It is weird to start a new year without the little lady Mom. It is the 2nd year since she has been gone, it is just very strange. I do feel better than I did last year about everything. I don't feel that my life is consumed by fear, yes, I still have many fears, but I don't feel consumed by it like I did before. Between the disability and the few students I have, I AM able to pay my bills now. The bankruptcy is behind me. I have payment plans for those things that need it. I also don't think I am in as much as survival mode as I was a year ago. Yes, much of the year is a blank to me, I don't remember too much stuff that went on, but that also could be partly because I have memory and concentration issues. Sometimes it takes about 3 separate times to finish a post. That is just my reality these days. I do miss my mother all the time, but the times it hurts physically aren't as often as they used to be. I think that is a good thing. I can recall some memories that make me smile, although I can still picture her perfectly in the hospital that last week. She looked so small and fragile. She was fragile at that point. I am glad that I was able to keep her without until almost the very end. I will forever be thankful to God for that. I hope I made her last few years good. I hope I did okay at the last 8 months of her life. It is hard to know but I think I did okay. I did give her my best even if my best wasn't perfect for the day. I tried to make sure I always put her first and make sure that I was doing alright health wise too. I don't expect to ever stop missing her but I do expect, eventually, it won't hurt as much. This year will be hard at times, I expect. I was so numb last year that this year some things are a bit harder. Thanksgiving was especially hard. Thankfully, I had 2 wonderful friends and their families to spend it with. The few days before Christmas were hard, although the holidays themselves was not so bad. Spending the New Year's Eve with another dear friend was also good. I can laugh a bit more now than I did a year ago.

Well, it is getting rather late (even for me!!) so I better finish this up. I do hope your New Year's Eve was a good and safe one!!!!

Thursday before New Year's Eve! 12-29

2011-12-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

What a day this has been! Well, I had just one lesson as my little ones didn't show up. I tried to get a hold of the parents, but no luck. I did have my Aggie's lesson! She gave me a CD of her singing Christmas Songs for Christmas. I am glad about that. It is a lovely present that I will listen to tomorrow. 1/2 of it is in English and the other half in Polish. She is fluent in Polish and French. She is planning to go to competition this year. I am not sure who else is planning to go outside of Rebecca (who I haven't heard from all month.) and Katie. I have the information for Isaac in case he would like to go. He has an awesome voice and he is such a good boy. I have known him since he was born. He is growing up very fast. He is very talented too.

I have been thinking of the new year. I am not sure what I want to work on this year. Except for last year, I usually pick one characteristic of mine that needs improving. Instead of making several resolutions, I pick one thing I need to work on. Last year, (well, this year still) I was just trying to survive the loss of my mom. It does make me sad to know that I am the only one who is still so devastated by her passing. It seems to, on an average day, be better than I am. I know Andrew goes through his days of pain, but he, overall, is doing alright he says. Richard, I don't know but he is always looking forward and never back so I really don't know. The last time I actually talked to him about this, he was doing fine. It was months ago and before he was mad at me. I know my Uncle misses her at times too. I want to take a couple of the pictures of him and mom and enlarge them. I will put them in a frame and give them to him. I have a favorite that I want for sure to use. Here it is:

I love this picture so much. they both look so young and carefree. That is the mom I remember. A smiling mom, a laughing mom. We shared many a laugh me and Mom. I wish the boys could have really spent more time with her and seen more of her laughter, lighter side but they couldn't.

What do you do for resolutions on New Year's? I haven't decided. Weight is always a thing I am working on. I don't make that my resolution because I have made many resolutions to lose weight. i want something better. Last year, a bloggy friend called the it the year of "embrace". I may choose something like that. I am just not sure right now. I may just not make any resolutions at all again this year. I am still in mourning, although I have more good days now than bad. I still miss her a lot of the time and sometimes it still hurts physically.

Tomorrow Julie is coming over. We are going to work on the Dining Room and Kitchen. Lily changed a few things around last time she was here. My canned food is in the pantry cabinets in the Utility room. I need to move the DVD shelves downstairs and the one little shelf unit in the living room for the kids' toys and pictures.

I bought a new tote tonight. It was on sale for $5 and I needed a new one so I was rather glad about that. I also bought a Disney Movie that was on sale. I can't think of which one I bought off the top of my head. Walmart has several on sale for Family Night. There are several others I want to that are only about $10 or $15. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, the Lion King, The Fox and the Hound, and several more. I need a new Valentine's Day table cloth. They aren't out yet and it is too early to put it out. I have a regular one I will put on the table in the meantime. I will take down the Christmas stuff in the next couple of weeks. I have a nice bag big enough for my little tree so I can put it away in the garage for next year. I won't have to leave it up all year long. I have the Easter stuff put away too now. Yeah, I hadn't put that away either. Now it is in the box ready to go to the furnace room for storage. I will wrap my Christmas ones too and put them away too. The furnace room is pretty well organized unlike my office. I have about 5 stacks of music that needs to be put away. I am going to see what I need in the stacks and put the rest away. Now that Christmas is over and the music will be coming back in for the next week or two. I have to get the regular music back out again. I do hope that this year, I will be putting the music away instead of leaving it on the piano bench for a year. Right now there is only a couple of books on the piano bench right now. I will also be getting the CDs in order too. right now they are on a table in the living room. They so need to be put away. I will be working on that project first. I have about 5 or 6 stacks of them, not to mention the 2 stacks in my room of the originals. I want to change out some of the cases to sleeves so that they don't take up too much room. They really don't fit in the one box anymore so I need to do something about that. Then I need to compare the originals to the copies to see what needs copying. I don't give out originals very often. Katie has a couple of them right now, but she is going to copy them for herself. I will then make copies for the next person who uses that book.

I am watching "Sweet Home Alabama". It is a good movie and I have seen it before. I am heading to bed shortly. I am very tired again. I hope I am not so exhausted by the end of the weekend. I do hope you are having a good evening too.

Midweek, 12-28

2011-12-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

It is Wednesday already. I accidentally slept through my blood test. Apparently, I was exhausted. I went to bed at 9 pm last night and slept until about 2 pm this afternoon. Yeah, that is a lot. I did wake up about 5 times to get up and walk because of pain in my hips and legs but I walked to the bedroom door and back then went back to bed. I am still a bit extra tired tonight. I will head for bed soon.

I am watching this new show called "Extreme Cheapskates". It is insane, completely insane. One man found $7.50 in the couch and went to the Butcher's Shop. He bought Goat Heads for dinner that night! Yes, Goat Heads! It was gross to watch him eat it so I had to change the channel. It was too much for me as I was eating Cream of Mushroom Soup. I love my soup! That was my dinner with some vegetables tonight. Now Toddlers and Tiaras is on. It entertains me. I remember Dance Competitions and these are similar in some ways. I also like Dance Moms. It is nice to know that many dance studios are filled with crazy parents like ours was. Of course, the moms on Dance Moms are way more obnoxious than the ones in the studio I was in, but still there are some similarities. Like our Dance Teacher, this one has favorites too. I never liked that about the dance studio, but since I wasn't in charge, except for my classes that I taught, there wasn't anything I could do about it.

I had a few lessons today. Natalie Z's mom forgot about her lesson. We rescheduled for next week. Katie had her lesson. We have narrowed down her Inspirational Category for competition. We know what she is doing for Classical and for Broadway. She has a sassy, jazzy piece called "Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls. She loves the piece and does a really nice job. I really like it for her. It so fits her sassy, jazzy side. Katie is doing a German piece for Classical. She has chosen not to do a pop piece. That works just fine for me so it is okay.

I am having a difficult time finding judges for competition. I seem to have enough for vocal, but not enough for piano. That is the problem. I have a judge who wants to do classical so I let Julie know that we need to have Classical on Saturday or Sunday as she is not available on Friday. Julie said she would let me know if that is possible when the entries come in. Well, that could lead to a big problem if she puts classical on Friday. I was not a happy camper at all. Diane is sure it will all work out but I am not so sure. I am going to be calling the people who judged in 2008 when we were in Kalamazoo last time. I know that Georgette and Diane want new people judging, but I think we have exhausted our contacts and I will have to call those we have used before. I will start this work again next week as I am on the count down now. I never want to this job again, ever. I don't think it is fun and it is very stressful. I would rather do something else instead. I just would.

I do hope your day went well. Mostly mine was good (what little there was of a day).

Tuesday 12-27

2011-12-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

It was a good day today! I met with Kimberly and she had a lovely surprise for me! She brought her Mom with her! It was so lovely to see them both. Kimberly brought me some of the cookies she made. They were very, very yummy! Yeah, they are already gone. I tried to wait, but I couldn't. My tummy called their name and they jumped inside my tummy. What can I say? It happens!

After coming home from meeting up with Kimberly and her mother, the Emerton family came over with gifts for me! I had sent home Emily's and Lily's presents last week. I LOVE what I got. I got this beautiful Angel plaque that is the Guardian Angel of the Home and Family from IRELAND!!! Yes! They got this for me when they went to Ireland this past summer. I also got a gift card for movies! That will so come in handy on Sunday when I go out with my girls! And....I got the Anne of Green Gables Treasury book! I gave up hope of ever getting one of these, but I did! I will get the Christmas Treasury one later this week, then I will have them both! I am so excited about that! I love this book. Anne of Green Gables is my absolute FAVORITE series and books EVER! Yes, I am crazy about Harry Potter books, but these are my top of the list favorites! Right now, Calli is reading the 2nd book to the series. She got it for Christmas. I am so glad she loves these books. I gave Mom's Anne of Green Gables doll to Calli and she had the doll next to her while she read the book. I thought that was so cute! I know how much Calli likes the Anne of Green Gables books. They are simply wonderful books. I even had to go to Prince Edward Island because of those books.

Charlie had is lesson tonight and it was for an hour because we needed to make up last weeks missed lesson. I really like how he likes to make up lessons instead he of just skipping the lesson. I really appreciate that about the young man. I don't have anymore lessons tonight. It is NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles tonight! Tomorrow I have to get up early tomorrow for my blood test. I have new students tomorrow. I am excited about that! I also have Allison and Natalie. I have to pull some books for them tomorrow! Wow, we are back to regular music again. Christmas is now over so no more Christmas music. That makes me sad, but until next fall, we are finished with it. Time to dig out the Italian Songs and the Broadway pieces. Bob has a lesson tomorrow too. He was arriving home from a cruise on Christmas Day so he changed his lesson 2 weeks ago. It was good foresight as I wasn't home after all, I was at my Uncle's. Tomorrow is a few lessons of which an hour of it is new students. I have 2 new 4 year olds and 1 6 year old. They are going to share an hour. I simply don't have an 1 1/2 hours available at this time. The Mom thought that the hour would be better as the 4 years are rather young. They are good readers though so that is good. I am going to put them in the young beginner books. If they don't work, then we will switch to the Little Mozarts for the really young children. Since they read, I think the regular young beginners will be good. I just realized though that I bought 1 theory book, 1 notespeller book instead of 2 of each. The twins can't share their theory and notespeller books. What was I thinking? Obviously, I must not have been. Silly me!!! I did get a call that the Snell books I need for Brianne and Brooke are in. That is a good thing. Next week I will go and get the rest and pick up the rest of the twins books.

I am freezing tonight and it is supposed to be very cold tonight. Oh my! That is not good news, but it is expected as living in Michigan, you get cold weather. I have a sweatshirt on and my Tinkerbell Fleece. I am so glad I bought them as I find myself wearing them quite a bit in the winter.

I do have to go and get some garbage bags this week along with some pop and bread. My milk is good until the 2nd but after that I will need to get more. I plan to do that on Sunday. I think the garbage bags shall wait until Sunday. I also am going to see a movie with my lovely Muglia girls on Sunday. It will be a perfect day to spend New Year's Day with my girls.

I do hope you are having a good day!

Boxing Day

2011-12-26T19:31:00.000-08:00

In Canada, it is Boxing Day. In Ireland it is St. Stephen's Day. For me here? It is just the day I went and visited my aunt and uncle along with my brother. It was an interesting day. As soon as I got there, I gave Jayson his gifts and also the gifts for Michelle and Uncle John. I had the special gift for Andrew, I thought he would be a bit sad over it because Mom is not here, but he chuckled and said he wasn't too surprised. Mom often hid Christmas presents and then forgot about them. He is right, but she was here to give them to him and now she isn't. I am glad he wasn't too sad and that he liked it. I am not sure if I could have held myself together if he was sad about it. Andrew was later than we thought because he had stopped by Mom's grave to look at the headstone. He took some pictures of it to show us. He has a new iPhone now along with a new number. I guess because of the work he does, he has to change the number a lot. It makes it very confusing for me, but if it keeps him safe, then, I will deal with the fact I don't always have his number. He is an outreach worker. Right now he is working in a homeless shelter. I am not sure what all he does, but he works there 2 nights a week and then 3 days/nights at the restaurant he has been working at. He and Angi (his girlfriend) are about to move again to a safer neighborhood. That would be a good thing. I have never been to his apartment since he moved to London. Maybe this one I will see. Andrew and Angi brought their dog, Jagger, with them today. It was quite funny because Jagger is a pug and Uncle John has a Newfoundland dog named Raven. She is huge, almost like a tiny horse. Jagger would go up to Raven and bark and then Raven would back away. To see this small dog chase the big dog was funny. It really was funny to see. Jagger also likes people food and was trying to beg from Angi and Andrew. I don't give dogs people food because I have no idea what they can and cannot eat. I don't want to accidentally poison Jagger or any other dogs.

I got a nice Tim Horton's gift card from my Uncle and Michelle. Now I have 2 of them. I am happy about that! I got a beautiful picture frame and sweater from Andrew. The were really nice. I wanted one of those type picture frames because I want to put some family pictures in it. I want the family room to have the family pictures from 1989 and other family pictures, especially one with Mom in it. I will take pictures when I have them all in order. That won't be for a while though since I am working on other stuff. The pictures in the house are the last to be worked on. I have other more pressing issues to deal with first.

I am really tired tonight. I think I will actually go to bed shortly because I am so tired. I am getting up early tomorrow to go and see Kimberly. I am excited about that. Have a wonderful night!

It's Here! Christmas!!

2011-12-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!!! It is here! Christmas Day!!!

I spent last night and all day today at Kathy's Parents' house. It was such a good time. We went to church last night and then we all went back to the Knight's house for the unwrapping of presents. The kids were so excited! Alicia and Samantha did really well during church. It was an unusual church service because there was no sermon. Yup, no sermon. Anyways, they broke up the Christmas Story with lots of music. It was very nice. Matthew and Jacob did well too although at 13 and 10, they are able to sit through the service unlike the little ones who are only 5. After opening presents, the kids started playing with some of the toys while the rest of us chatted and had a good time. I like being with Kathy's family. Because Kathy and I have been friends since we were 3 (that would be 40 years now!), I have known her parents that long too. They are very nice and it is really nice to be with them. I got some nice presents too. I got a Barnes and Noble gift card, some tea, a new mug (I love mugs!!!), a new bookmark (Harry Potter - you can never have enough), new slippers, and a few other goodies in my stocking. I really like what I got.

I left when it was time to give the girls a bath, I came home. Unfortunately, my lovely angels (Samantha and Alicia) had very upset tummies last night. It started with Samantha about midnight and apparently, poor Alicia joined in soon. They were okay during the day today, but Kathy had to limit what they could eat. This did bring some tears from the girls as they are too young to totally understand why Mommy wouldn't let them eat cookies and cheese and everything else they wanted. We did get them some medicine but they wouldn't take it, so I have no idea if it would work for them. I sure hope they do well tonight. It is so nice with the little ones now, because they aren't shy with me at ALL anymore! They remember me each time they see me. I get lots of high fives and hugs. They are so cute. All of Kathy's children are cute and really neat kids. Matthew is 13 now and he is about 5'6" so he likes that he is finally taller than me. I am the first measuring stick for them. Jacob is catching up, let me tell you! It won't be too long until he is taller too. They are such good kids. They all were very happy with their presents, there wasn't any, I wanted this and didn't get it type comments. I like that they liked what they got. I took a lot of pictures (okay - 28) that I will upload a few of them tonight here, and the rest of facebook. I even got one of Kathy's Mom, but i didn't get one of her Dad this year. Maybe next year or when I see them next. Kathy's mom even sent me home with some yummy food. She is a VERY good cook. We had meatloaf and ribs that were so heavenly, as well as the usual mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and salad. We had 2 types of salad, regular lettuce salad and coleslaw. I had some coleslaw. I also took home some yummy biscuits. I have food for the next few days.

Tomorrow I am going to my Uncle John's for the afternoon and evening. I have a few small gifts for them and one for Andrew plus the ornament from Momma. I have new wrapping paper for the presents. I am watching "Legally Blonde" again. I do own it somewhere in the DVD shelves. I have the sequel too. Mom loved this movie. We would watch it about once a year when we would have our comedy movies marathon. "RV" was another goodie. That was another one that would totally get us laughing. I do miss watching TV and movies with her. I can watch some movies now that I couldn't before because it would remind me too much that she is gone.

I really had a nice day. I missed mom but it wasn't painful missing like it was a couple of days ago. Next up is New Year's Eve where I will be with Miss Calli and family. That should be fun too.

Kathy and I had to stop here at home while we were out getting tummy medicine for the little ones. I had 2 big and I mean big, boxes of games for the kids. A couple of them weren't even open. Kathy, Samantha, Alicia, and I played Disney trivial pursuit, the old version, and I won. The girls came and went during the game, which is totally expected with 5 year olds. Alicia and Kathy's Mom played the disney Sorry game I brought over too. I saved me the regular Sorry game for when I have company and want to play. We started to play the Magic Kingdom game but Samantha got bored of it while we were playing. The trivial pursuit questions weren't all Disney, like the other one I have. It had a mixture of lots of types of things from music, science, sports, geography, and some Disney questions. I am glad I kept the one I did because most of the questions are about Disney and the movies. I love Disney. I told Kathy that the next time she goes to Disney, I have to go with her. We also decided we need to go to Disneyland. Kathy was mentioning today that when she was working in California, that she passed Disneyland all the time but wasn't interested in going there because it is a smaller version of Disney World. She now regrets that decision. I would regret that too. I still remember Momma telling me she left me and my 10 day younger cousin at his house with a babysitter while Mom and my older brother along with my Dad, uncle, and aunt, all went to Disneyland. Now really, just because I was 4 months old doesn't mean a thing! Just kidding! I would have definitely left my 4 month old with a trusted sitter instead of Disneyland too. How else would Mom be able to enjoy herself? She wouldn't, she would be tied with me. I have no idea when we will be able to get there, but one never knows. Sometime in the future I suppose. Kathy goes home Tuesday early in the afternoon since I believe she has to work in the evening on that day. I have lessons starting on Tuesday this week. I am rather glad about that.

Well, this is getting long, so I better end it now. I hope you had a great Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T13:47:00.000-08:00

It is Christmas Eve! Yup, it has FINALLY arrived!!!!! I am going to the 7 pm service at my old church (the one I grew up in) and then we head back to Kathy's parents house for the opening of presents. Santa comes while we are at church! I have my gift for Kathy's parents ready and waiting to go.

So far it has been a good day. Kathy called to let me know what time things were happening and then Jose, Mom's friend called. He is very sad. His wife (and she was a witch) died a few months ago and he is very, very bitter about it. He also misses my mom a lot too. I do feel bad for him as this is the first Christmas without her. I asked if he was going to church this evening because I know he and Dorothy used to go all the time. He said no. He is at the stage where he is angry with God. I totally understand. We didn't talk to much after that but that is okay. Sometimes, I think he is transferring how he felt about my mother to me and it creeps me out. That is partly why I don't talk to him very often. I did talk to Donna. I think she is a bit lonely since she won't be spending the holidays with her daughter's family. I don't know. I know she is homebound a lot now that she doesn't have a car. She was in a bad accident last winter and has been without a car ever since. I try to take her out every so often, but with my schedule and her schedule, it doesn't happen a lot. I did see her last weekend after church on Sunday and it was pretty good.

I am anxious to see what Kathy's kids get for Christmas. I love watching how excited they are about the presents. The twins are 5 now and Jacob is 9 or 10 with Matthew at 13. I love watching children open presents on Christmas Eve or Day. I used to take a lot of pictures of Abby and William when they were small but I haven't seen them in 3 1/2 years. I don't anticipate seeing them any time soon. I don't know if Andrew has spoken to Richard lately or not, I haven't asked. I do hope Andrew texts him Merry Christmas. I don't also think Richard will call on Christmas to speak to me. I actually don't expect him to ever speak to me again. He is very angry with me and knowing him, he will hold a grudge for a very long time. Today, I am okay with this, some days I am not, but today is okay.

I was thinking about Mom a lot these past few days. It is days like this that I miss her the most especially the woman she became with Alzheimer's. Mom was always excited about Christmas and Christmas Eve, but even more so when she became ill because she could remember Christmas from when she was a little girl. Fortunately, she never really lost what Christmas was before she passed away. I do think she would have had she lived last year to see the Christmas. I really wish she had because I really wanted a last good Christmas for her but God decided she needed to go home before that. You just can't really argue with God, I have tried and it doesn't work. Anyways, she was still enough of herself at the last Christmas she had, in 2009. We spent it in Windsor. It was the first year in my life that I can remember we didn't go to church. Even when we were with Richard or with someone else, Mom would find a church for us to attend. She firmly believed that if you can't celebrate the real meaning of Christmas, then you can't celebrate the other side to it. Jesus' birthday was first and foremost in her mind and I agree. I only missed 2 in my whole life. 1 when I had my surgery and Mom and I had a little bit of home church after she came home from the service, and the other in 2009 when we were at Tillie's. The reason I didn't take her to church that night is because she really couldn't handle sitting there. She was just too sick. I was glad thought that she didn't remember we didn't go to church so she wouldn't be upset. It upset her when we missed church. Mom always felt a week starts off right when you go to church on Sunday. She (I do agree with her, my weeks are better when I start them off with church) just believed it set your week up well to go. Mom really didn't like missing church at all. So anyways, we spent the night at Tillie's. We watched Star Wars on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day we opened presents and then Andrew came to spend the day with us. I am glad he did. It had been years since we spent a Christmas with him and it was important to Mom that she see her baby. (Andrew is the youngest and is proud to be the "baby" of the family) She spoke to Richard and the kids on the phone, which made her smile and she was with Andrew. Now Andrew was shocked at Mom's shape. I tried to tell him, but unless you actually see her in motion, you don't get it. It was the start of the downhill turn in the little lady's life. I am glad he got to spend some time with her that day, and the days at my Uncle's house. He really needed too.

I will see the little brother on Monday. I am very excited about it. I will also see my cousin, Jayson, and my Aunt and Uncle.

I do hope you are having a great Christmas!!! Merry Christmas!!!!

Christmas Eve Eve

2011-12-23T19:28:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. It is hard to believe that is so close. It seemed like weeks and weeks away and suddenly, it has arrived! Oh my! I am somewhat ready. I have gifts to wrap tomorrow but I am done shopping, not that I had much in the first place after my students! I have received some really nice gifts from my students, some gift cards, a snow flake (one of those really big, homemade ones - made by Calli), an angel, and some ornaments. I haven't used the gift cards yet, but I know I will!

A couple of friends of mine are in town for the Holiday, Kimberly and Anne. I will see Kimberly on Tuesday for lunch at Olga's and I am not sure when I will get to see Anne. I certainly hope so. I can't wait to her all about life in the Big City, NYC. She is doing rather well there. She works for a publisher. Kimberly lives in Florida and is a teacher. She really likes it. Kimberly has wanted to be a teacher since I met her. I knew she would be a good one. I just wish she lived closer but I know she really likes Florida. Winter is not Kimberly's favorite season here in Michigan.

I get to see Kathy tomorrow and her family! I can't wait! It should be a good couple of days. I also will see my uncle and aunt on Monday! That will be great too. Andrew will be there too. I have a gift for him that is actually from mom. It is rather strange to give someone a gift from a person who has passed away. It is very strange. I apparently told Andrew about it already so I can't surprise him. I have one just like it only it has my name on it. It is because our names were on them that I knew who they were for. It is just like Mom to purchase them without me seeing them. She had to have done it in 2006 or 2007 because she wouldn't have been able to purchase it in 2008 because she didn't have any money on her, I carried it all.

I keep looking at the Anne of Green Gable Christmas Treasury book on eBay. I can't really afford it right now, but if it is still available in January, I will get it. I had one, but it, as with so much other stuff, has gone. I don't know exactly when, but it is gone. I got when I went to Prince Edward Island many years ago. I think we went the summer of 2000, yes that sounds about right. I was working on my master's degree at that point. Mom and I had a great time. We went all over the 800 kilometer wide island from one end to the other. We started in Summerside and went up north on the west side of the island before heading to the section they call Anne's Land. This is where the story of Anne of Green Gables take place and where Lucy Maud Montgomery was born and lived. It was fascinating. We were in one house that became a museum. It was run by Lucy Maud's grand nephew. We were there for about 6 hours speaking with the man! He gave us a tour and then we just started chatting and the stories he told about his great aunt was wonderful! He was an elderly gentlemen. We bought several books from him. Mom bought them for me for Christmas that year as by the time we got to Anne's Land, I was flat broke. I had spent all my money. I am not really sure where all my money went, but went it did. I love the books of Lucy Maud Montgomery especially the Anne of Green Gables books. I like the book, The Blue Castle next and then the Emily books. Mom liked Anne of Green Gables books too. We have seen some of the movies, mostly the first one because the 2nd and 3rd are not like the books at all. That is a drag but still, Megan Fellows is the best Anne Shirley I have ever seen including the one who was in the musical we saw in Charlottetown, PEI. It was a wonderful show, let me tell you. We had great seats. We also went the next day to see the musical "Emily". I hope to go back there some time.

Brooke and Brianne will not be having their lessons next week. It is kind of a bummer, but, hey these things happen during kids' vacation. I have 2 lessons on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday, 2 maybe 3 on Thursday, 3 on Friday and 1 on Saturday. It isn't a bad schedule for a week that the kids are off school. No lessons, of course, on Saturday or Sunday and none on Monday. I hope Isaac reschedules his Monday lessons. I am not sure though, but if not, I will see him a week from Monday.

I am getting rather tired now. I got up a bit early for the girls lessons so I will go to bed a little bit early. Oh, I think I managed to kill my plant from Tillie. I am not very good with plants or keeping plants alive. I did water it again today, but it isn't looking too well. oops. I am just not good at this. I either water too little or too much, I just don't get it right.

I hope you are having a good day too.

It's getting closer! 12-22

2011-12-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas is almost here! I can't wait! It looks like I will be going to my Uncle John's house on Monday. Andrew will be there too. I have a gift from Mom for him. It is an ornament. Mom and I had gone to Disney in 2006 and bought him an ornament with his name on it. I know he will like it. I have one too. I found them in my room after Mom passed away. We both forgot about them when we came home and Christmas arrived. That was the last Christmas Mom and I spent at Richard's with his family. We also went to Disney's Vero Beach that Christmas for New Year's Eve. It was a good trip. I only saw Richard a couple of times since then and his children just one time.

Benjy and Joiene had their lessons this evening. Benjy is doing really well. He really is. I just wish they would practice. I don't think they do at all. Joiene is doing okay, considering the lack of practice, but Benjy is doing really well. He knows where all his piano keys are and he learned the difference between a line note and a space note today. that is sometimes a tough thing for students at first. He is only just turned 7 and in 1st grade! Can you imagine if he practiced what he would sound like? It is mind boggling. He is also excited about getting the computer game CD so he can play it on the computer. It is a neat game.

Since I am not singing in church on Sunday, I am not going to church choir practice. We had to be there at 7 pm tonight along with the orchestra. I won't be singing with choir until the 8th of January. I won't be at choir practice next week either but I will be there the one after that. New Year's Eve I will be at my friend, Heather's B-T's house again for game night. It shall be a lot of fun. Calli and I have such a good giggle when we are together. She is such a good kid and so is her brother, Acer. Calli and I love to play Uno. I love that game. I really do.

When Lily was here yesterday, we played Disney's Trivial Pursuit and Sorry. We had a good time playing too. Lily won by a shade in the game Sorry and she had the most pie pieces of Trivial Pursuit so I declared her the winner. I think she was surprised by how many answers she actually knew and didn't guess. Her older sister, Emily, used to make her watch all the Disney movies when Lily was small. Lily did say she was thankful for Emily for that since she was doing so well with the game.

I have to go and get a few gift certificates that I need for Monday. I think I should do that tonight, so I will have to go soon. I hope you are having a good day. I did. I am tired, but that is normal for me at this time of the night.

massive work in progress!!! The family room

2011-12-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

My Library/TV room is finished. The other side is still a work in progress but will be taken care of in the future. I am so pleased with how everything looks. The living room furniture is a bit crammed in the side of the family room, but that is okay for now. Eventually, I will have the right amount of furniture in it but for now it will work. I just need to get the cushions re-stuffed as they are super hard as a rock! I do hope that by summer or fall I will be able to get some other furniture. Right now the goal is to just maybe get them re-stuffed to last until I can get some other stuff. It doesn't even have to be brand new, I don't need super brand new. I will look at the resale shop that is up the street from me as well as the clearance center at Art Van. We shall see how it goes. Julie and Ross did a really good job with the family room. The bar stools are gone as well as some of the other stuff that I wanted to donate. Most of the stuff to be donated is now taken care of. I will post pictures tomorrow.

I had 2 lessons tonight and a sort of try it out lesson with a 4 year old. He actually sat pretty well. I was surprised and happy about that surprise. His brother already takes lessons but they are having issues trying to practice because the 4 year old wants to play too. Maybe this way, they both will be able to practice, that is my hope anyway.

I only have 2 lessons tomorrow as opposed to my usual 6. I have a bunch of new music to get though. I need 3 different levels of Alfred piano books plus level 4 and 5 Snell books for Brooke and Brianne. They will have their lessons on Friday as well as the usual 3, Acer, Calli, and Emily. I also want to do some grocery shopping next week. I wonder if Calli will be available. The fridge and the cupboards were cleaned out today by Lily and well, let's just say that there was a lot that was past the expiration date. Yeah, that is just not too good.

I need to gather the books that I either have duplicates for or I don't want to take to the used bookstore tomorrow also. I want to get a few books for myself for the next few weeks. I have several that I can take to them. I think I owe about 16 books to them as I keep forgetting to bring more. They have been giving me the discounted price, which is awfully nice of them. I should take care of that right now while I am thinking about it. Be right back. There, I have a bag full to take there. So tomorrow's errands are in order. I have the list of music I have to take as well as the books to the bookstore before teaching. I have a couple more gifts to get and then I will be finished with Christmas. Kathy's parents are left and that is it. I am getting them a gift certificate. I am done with everything else and it feels awfully nice. I will also stop at the Rochester of the Chipotle tomorrow for dinner. I usually try to pick it up a bit early and then re-heat if I need to.

I also need to get the new Harry Potter movie tomorrow too! I have to pay a couple of doctor bills, which I will take care of tonight so they will be ready to mail tomorrow. Oh, right, i need to get some stamps too! Ugh! I used all the rest of them for the Christmas Cards last night.

I got my new blankets yesterday in the mail. I will put them on the bed this weekend, probably Saturday. I have new sheets too. I hope they are soft. The ones I have now are so I want to keep soft ones. The new blankets are so pretty too. The color of chocolate. They will go well with the decor of my room. My furniture will look nice with new blankets and sheets. I just got plain white sheets for my bed. My old blankets are totally falling apart so the timing was perfect for the new ones to arrive.

I do hope you had a good day!!!

Tuesday 12-20

2011-12-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

Well, only a few days left and then it will be Christmas! I WILL be going to Kathy's parents' house for Christmas Day as well as Christmas Eve. It will be a fun couple of days with her. I am not sure what my Uncle and Aunt are doing for Christmas but Andrew wants to know and naturally, he wants me to call. I don't understand why he has trouble making these type calls but he does. Oh well, that is just my younger brother. I called and left a message. They very well could be out of town already. Last year, they went to her brother's so they could be there again this year. I am just not sure. I know Andrew wants to see Tillie too. He has something for her and for my Aunt and Uncle as well as my small cousin, Jayson.

I didn't have any students today. Charlie left his instrument in his mother's car so he is going to do an hour lesson next week. Samuel's mom totally forgot about it this afternoon. She remembered in the morning and then she forgot so she is coming tomorrow. Katie was still at work, so she needs to reschedule for next week. I think I spent the afternoon and evening on the computer. I will be heading for bed rather soon because I am very dizzy and lightheaded this evening. I have been all day, ever since I woke up this morning. I actually think it is because I am out of my tramadol medicine. I get dizzy when I don't take it and I have been out for 2 days.

I won't be singing at church this Sunday so I won't be at rehearsal this Thursday since they will be only working on Christmas Day stuff. There is now choir on the 1st as far as I know. I am hoping that in the New Year, Katie will be joining us in the choir. I think she would really enjoy it a lot. I would enjoy being in the choir with her. She is such a nice girl and is really working hard to finish high school and get her Associates Degree by the end of summer. I am not sure what her next step is. I know she is looking into other colleges. Katie has visited some already.

Julie is coming tomorrow with Lily! I have to wrap the presents for Lily and Emily. I am excited to see that lovely young lady and I enjoy hanging out with Julie too. The whole family is really nice. They are very helpful and I like being with them. I am not sure where we are working in the family room tomorrow. I will find out when Julie gets here and Lily. I have some stuff in the fridge that needs to be tossed.

I got my new blankets from Walmart today. They came in the mail. I am very happy about that. i will take care of them tomorrow. I have new sheets too so that is good. So now I have new pajamas, new blankets, and new sheets! Yippee! I am very happy about that.

There is a Law and Order: SVU marathon on USA channel right now. I am sure there is only 1 episode left of the Marathon, but that is okay. I love this show. I haven't seen in regularly in the past few years because Mom was so afraid of TV. Now I can watch it whenever it is on if I want. I think I would rather have the mother with me. Right now the episode that is on I have never seen before and boy is it a good one. It is really good!!! I am glad I accidentally found it after NCIS Los Angeles.

There have been a boatload of commercials about short term loans and get money quick. Wow, nothing like tons of temptations. I think about the financial mess I was in when losing the store, I shudder when I see commercials like this. I really do. I have 2 credit cards and they are supposed to be for emergencies, but unfortunately, each time I got one, I ended up putting it in my wallet instead of my safe. I will be paying them off in the next few months so they will be empty and ready for emergencies. Other than that, I am doing pretty well with making sure I do what I am supposed to.

I do hope you had a good day. I can't really say I had a good one, but it wasn't too bad. Tomorrow will be so much better.

pictures of the decorations!!

2011-12-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the pictures of the decorations!

The girls did awesome!

I will write more this evening. These are the 2 pianos, the book shelf, and the princess table with the tree on it.

Monday before Christmas 12-19

2011-12-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

I have the perfect gift for Emily and Lily. I can't write what it is, but I really like what I got them. I will hopefully see Lily on Wednesday. I am not sure though since she is a very busy young lady now that she is in 8th grade. She is only going to get busy as she enters high school next year. Sometimes, I think back to how young she was when I first met her. I remember Emily and I heading to a movie and Lily crying because we weren't taking her that particular time. She was so sweet in a way because she only wanted to be with us. We took her the next time. I remember the first time she came to the movies without her sisters with us. I don't remember what we were going to see, but it was a good children's movie. Mom was with us. Because it was such a monumental moment, we also got treats from the concession stand. She picked this candy, jolly ranchers. When we opened the bag, she discovered the weren't the type she liked. Normally, we wouldn't have gotten anything else but she really didn't know so Mom took her back to the stand to get something else. I believe Lily came back with popcorn and a beautiful smile. She is a very special young lady so are her sisters. Emily just finished her first semester in college. Elyse and her husband are saving for their first house. All in all, the three are doing well.

I haven't taken pictures yet, but I will. I also have to pick up the boxes in the living room too. I want to take a picture of the front window but I need to do it during the day. When Isaac arrived today, I hadn't turned on the lights. His mom did and they liked the tree that the girls did. Sometime next week we are supposed to go and see a movie. I hope to see one with Lily too. It all depends on all of the girls' schedules. They are all very busy. I don't have a lot of lessons this week because of the holiday, but I have a couple new lessons with 3 little girls. They will have an hour lesson, 20 minutes each. The younger girls are almost 5 and in preschool. The oldest is almost 7. All three have their birthdays in February. I am looking forward to the lessons.

This Christmas seems to be harder than last year at times. Not all the time, just some times. Tonight was one of them. As I was coming home, it hit me. I am alright now, but it was a rough few minutes and of course, I was driving when this happened.

I am out of my tramadol again. I knew last week I should have called for refills, but I kept putting it off and now I am out. I sure hope it comes in rather quickly. It needs a new prescription. Naturally, I waited until the last minute. You would think by now I would know better, but no, not me. I have to learn the hard way again. Maybe that should be my New Year's resolution. It is something to think about anyway!!!

I hope you are having a good day.

the living room is now Christmas Wonderland!

2011-12-18T17:09:00.000-08:00

The living room is completely decorated except for one piano. I will fix that tomorrow. I also have to put the bins out of the way too. The tree is loaded down with decorations and it looks just great. The top of the piano I am not currently using is covered and decorated but the one I am currently using in lessons is empty except for the CD player on it. The 4 girls did a great job decorating.

Church went well and without ANY lightheadedness today. It must have been the contacts causing the issues with eye straining. I accidentally put the old prescription in the left eye and since I could still read and watch TV, I didn't think it would be a problem, but apparently, I was wrong. I changed them last night and they are fine now. I don't know if I am singing on Christmas Day or not. There will be one service at 10 am instead of the usual 3 services. (Choir only sings at the first service except for once a month when we do all 4 including Saturday night) I will be at my old Church with Kathy and family on Christmas Eve then off to her parents house to watch the kids open presents. I enjoy watching them open presents and see the looks on their faces when the see what they get. I just love her children, they are such neat children. Christmas Day is still up in the air, but since it is a week away, it doesn't matter at this point. I will be somewhere with friends and that is what matters. Either I will be with Kathy on Christmas Day or the day after or I will be at the Hubels on Christmas Day. Either way, I get Kathy some time during the weekend. I have an older laptop (from a few years ago) and 2 boxes of games for her to come and collect sometime during the weekend. I hope her children like the games I am giving them. They were mine but I don't play board games as much as I used to so I have too many. I kept a few and the rest go to Kathy's kids!

I am pretty tired now since I have been up since 6:45 with NO nap this afternoon! After church, I picked up Donna and we went to lunch at Chipolte's. She liked it a lot. I knew she was allergic to a lot of things, but man tons of food too? Pork, Sour Cream, are just a few. We had to leave earlier than planned because the cleaning agent that one of the employees were using were making her sick. We had finished lunch by then so that was okay. I dropped her back home and then came home to read. I was going to take a nap, but I was reading instead so that didn't happen. I will probably go to bed early since I am so tired.

I have been having a problem in the night lately with night sweats and upset tummy. It has happened several times a week in the last few weeks. I have been having to get up and sometimes change my top and then go downstairs for some tummy medicine. It is really annoying. I have a bit of an upset tummy right now so before bed I will take more tummy stuff. It is almost time for my other tummy medicine again. I sure hope that it will fade away as quickly as it came. I am just not up for this. I ran out of my Xantac yesterday morning and I can't get it until tomorrow so I hope tonight isn't too awful. I have some Mylanta on hand such I need it.

I do hope you are having a good day. I am getting rather tired and I foresee going soon. It is only 8 pm so I am going to try to stay awake until at least 9 so that I won't wake up wide awake in the middle of the night.

Super Great Day! 12-17

2011-12-17T17:57:00.000-08:00

I paid the rest of the property taxes!!! Yes!!! It is paid (well, I mailed it so give it a few days to get there). I am so happy about this because I can now focus on the 2011 taxes! Yeah, I am, as of right now, only behind with the summer taxes because the winter ones just came in and they are due by March 1. Whether or not I get there by then, I don't think so, but I will have started paying them loooooong before then. It was such a good feeling to write the check and mail it!

The other reason it was a super great day is that my lovely girls, Natalie, Hannah, Sarah, and Lydia came to help decorate. I was so pleased with how well they did. We have the sled on the wall and the wall hanging from Disney. A lot of my Disney ornaments are on the tree. I have so many. The tree is covered with them. I know that they are really too big for the tree, but it they are so beautiful and I love them. Next year I will decorate outside too but this year I just don't have the money to spend on the electricity. Speaking of electricity, mine for some reason has jumped and I am concerned because I use less electricity than I use to and the bill is super high. This is the 2nd month in a row and I don't understand why. I have to call them on Monday because my electricity usage has not changed that much to be that high. If more than one person lived here, I could see it, but it is only me so I don't get it.

I have to change my contacts tomorrow morning because it is time for them to be changed. I am hoping I won't be so dizzy tomorrow, if I am then I won't be able to be in choir because during the rehearsal I get dizzy and feel like I am going to pass out. I am usually alright by the time the service starts, but even then it can happen. I truly do think it is my contacts and I will change them. It has been a while and I need to start keeping better track now.

I got up earlier than usual for Brianne's lesson. She is going to be put in the Snell books level 4 and her sister will be in the level 5 ones. I will also add fun stuff in it too so that will hopefully be interesting for them.

all the music that was in the living room is now in the office in piles on the floor. I will take one pile at a time and put them in order and then put them away. I plan to do a pile or so a day so that I will not have to stand for so long. There are about 5 to 6 piles. I also will take care of the CDs that I use for my singers. There are a lot of those out right now but they will be much easier to put away. I have some CDs I need to copy as I don't like to give out the original CDs. In order to get a new CD, if something happens to the originals, I have often have to buy the entire book and CD combo, which is expensive.

Tomorrow after church, I am going to see Donna. I have a few things for her. A bunch of Videos and a keyboard. It is my old one. I have no idea if it works or not but we will find out. It needs new batteries, that much I know. I have the stuff in the trunk of the car now. I think that is everything I need to bring her. If I forgot anything, I have no idea what it could possibly be. I think I will probably come and take a nap.

I very tired now. It has been such a full day. Tomorrow will be a super early day starting at 6:45 am to get ready for church. I do like the new church.

I am watching a program on overweight teens, I mean extremely overweight. They are all getting the gastric bypass surgery. I was asked about getting it done but I don't want to get it. I have thought about and from what I have read about it, it is very risky and I am not ready for that type of a risk. I have friends who have done the surgery, but they all have had major problems afterwards. My exercise machine is now uncovered so i can go and use it everyday. I am not sure how long I can use it, but I think any amount of time is good. I used to be be able to do a 1/2 hour a day but this was 6 years ago before my blood clot. Since then my mobility has gone down. I hope to get it up higher again. I figure I will start by counting my steps instead of time. I have a goal to have more mobility and not so dependent on my scooter. That I should lose weight will be the by product. Every time I make the goal to lose weight, I end up gaining weight so I figure this time I will target mobility. I want to be able to walk up and down my street with my CD player in my ear like I used. I used to walk about 3 miles a day. I would put my music on and I would just go. I am not sure with the arthritis and the fibro how much I can do but I figure some is better than none, which is what I am doing now.

I do hope you had a good day. I did.

9 days before Christmas

2011-12-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

It is 9 days before Christmas and my bloggy friend, Jojo's blog made me think of this special memory of my mother and my childhood.

When I was very small, I must have been early elementary at the time because I firmly that my dad was still here, one day after school, I came home with my younger and older brothers and our house was all lit up. Someone had brought out the trees (we had two, 1 in the living room and the other in our indoor patio) and decorated the living room one. Lights were up outside along the roof of the house and the trees. Down in the indoor patio were the decorations all laid out for us to decorate the tree with hangers on them. Our family room was fully decorated too. Decorations were in the windows in the living room and dining room too. Pretty much everywhere downstairs that could be decorated, was. We asked Momma who did them and she sat us down. She said that Santa thought we were very good children and sent his elves to decorate while we were in school. The funny thing is, we believed her for years on this one! It wasn't until we were in upper elementary that we learned momma did that. Well one year my brother, Andrew and I decided to be the elves for Mom. I don't remember if Richard was there or not, it was too long ago. I remember Andrew and I decorating the big tree downstairs and leaving Mom to do "her" tree with ornaments complete with their hangers ready to go. We put the decorations in the windows and started the family room. Mom came home before we finished but she was really happy with what we had done. Later that night we hung the outdoor lights. I had never seen her hang them herself before and I had an unnatural fear of Mom on a ladder. I, for some reason, always melted down when she was on a ladder. I had a fear that she would fall and it would be a bad fall. Eventually, she sent me inside to make some hot chocolate because I wouldn't stop crying. She told me she wouldn't fall off the ladder because she wouldn't be so high, but still, I just clung to her and cry. Mom and Andrew finished hanging the lights with me inside so I wouldn't have to see it and I thought she wouldn't get on the ladder. After that year, she always did the lights when I wasn't around. i think I was about 13 to 14 before I could handle her on a ladder. I have never seen anyone fall off a ladder in person, just on TV in movies and shows but I was terrified of Mom on a ladder. It didn't matter if it was inside or outside. I have only seen her on the roof once and it sent me in the house in tears. Anyways, I digress! Mom really loved the Christmas Season and really made the most of it. That is what I am thinking of this season. Yes, there is a bit of sadness as she is in Heaven, but with Christmas and why we celebrate it, it is hard to be sad all the time.

Another thing Mom would do when we were small (this was after my dad was gone). She would get a birthday cake with "happy birthday, Jesus" on it. This wasn't done every year, but every few Christmas she would do this. When I was in junior high, we started setting the table and adding a place setting for Jesus to join us. I had read about this tradition and that it was so cool, that we did it a few years. Remembering some of the traditions and things we used to do makes me smile and in a year where there were very few smiles, I need to focus on them, not the sad times.

After Acer and Calli's lessons, Bill brought KFC for dinner so the 5 of us sat down for dinner. It was yummy. Bill also took about 12 or so boxes of books that Julie and I put together and he is taking them to his library for donation. He works at a library so he is the perfect person to take them too. I have enjoyed them and now someone else can too. It was really cute, Acer informed me where his seat is at the table and he was right! It is where he sits every time we eat together. Bill sits opposite from me, Acer on my right with Heather next to him and Calli is on my left. She is such a good kid, both of them really. I simply adore them both, then again, I have great kids for students and I adore them too. Some are more cuddly than others, but all of them are awesome. Three of my lovelies will be here tomorrow to help me decorate. I will take pictures and post them. Hannah, Natalie, and Lydia are wonderful girls. They only can have lessons once a month and I am thankful that they can have them at all. I am not sure if Sarah, their little sister, will be coming or not. I will find out after Camille's lesson tomorrow! I have Brianne in the morning and then Camille in the afternoon with the girls after that.

It is has been a decent day and I am hopeful that yours was good too.

10 days until Christmas! 12-15

2011-12-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

I am such a happy girl this afternoon. I will be able to mail the rest of the taxes tomorrow! I am very excited how this worked out. I am really glad about that.

Church Choir practice went well. We were working on stuff for Christmas and Sunday. I am not sure about Christmas Day yet. I am still waiting to see what all is going on. I know that Christmas Eve I will be with Kathy and her family with her parents. It should be really good. Kathy is just waiting to find out what the in-laws are doing for the Christmas. If they have something on Christmas Day then Kathy's parents will have something for the Monday. Either will work for me as they usually have stuff earlier in the day and I don't teach until 4 so that should work. I have Rachel and Isaac's lessons that day. I am anxious to see Kathy and family. I know, it has only been a few short weeks since I last saw them, but still, I want to see her rather soon.

I am tired now so I will be in bed soon. I don't have to get up early tomorrow so that is good. My girls are coming on Saturday for decorating. They will be here at 2 pm. It should be a fun time. I need to also pull some music for Brianne on Saturday.

I hope you are having a good night!

Wednesday 11 days before Christmas 12-14

2011-12-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

I had a decent day. My head is the normal pain level and not too high for a change. My fibro is the normal (for me) pain levels, in other words, dealable and I have milk and bread for the week so I can have my soup and my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch or dinner.

Oh my! Julie was here after my blood test this morning (don't laugh too hard, I did write morning). I had to be at the doctor's by 10:20 am. I was in and out within 10 minutes. It was amazing. Also, it was the same nurse as last time and she got the blood in one try! Talk about wonderful! After that, I met Julie at my house. We went through ALL the boxes of books downstairs. Julie also took the books that were up here in the dining room downstairs on the bookshelf. It looks so beautiful. It really does. We have about 10 to 12 boxes of books going to the library or the St. Vincent de Paul people, wherever Julie thinks is best. The DVDs will be going down soon. We have a few things to clear out first so that the furniture can be rearranged and in placed. I really took a good look at the furniture today. Unfortunately, it needs a lot of work. There is so much that needs to be re-stuffed so I have decided that eventually I will be replacing it. Right now, I don't have the money. I will look for used, good furniture and also sales at furniture stores but not until the taxes are under control. I don't need anything fancy. I really don't. I also looked at the dining room chairs and they are going to need to be replaced too, eventually, not right away, but eventually they will need to be. It is kind of upsetting because I had my heart stuck on keeping the furniture but it isn't really good enough for that. Oh well, time to deal with that later not now. Right now my money is all accounted for, taxes, taxes, taxes (the property type). I am happy with how I am doing, like I said yesterday so I know that I can keep to a budget pretty well. Not super well all the time, but most of it.

I had to run to the music store this evening to pick up Laith's new books. He is moving from the prep young beginners series to the basic series. Since he really knows his notes well, this is definitely the move for him. I am very pleased with his progress, I really am. I have Samuel, my new little guy tomorrow too. He had to change days just for this week only. I didn't mind, I have the time to change since I have lots of room most every day. I only have a few lessons every day except Sunday when I don't have any that aren't make-ups. It is a good schedule for me because I have time to rest if I need it. I tried to rest before Natalie's lesson, but I couldn't sleep so no nap for me. I went on the computer and face book instead. I also received an email from Aaiyana's Mom. Aaiyana, indeed, had girl scouts today so she couldn't have her lesson after all. I really like that young lady. She is such a good girl. Natalie is learning Schubert's "Ave Maria". She is working very hard on her vowels and her placement. We ran out of time to work on breathing more so that is first thing next time when we start "Ave Maria". I think this particular song is one of those songs every singer should know. You never know when you will be asked to sing it. I have song it at several funerals and a wedding. you just never know when the song will be required, you just don't.

My fellow blogger, Christine Murray, will be releasing her book "Storm in Teacups" soon. I have offered her to do a guest post sometime between Christmas and New Year's. I am looking forward to that. Her book will be released through Amazon.com and a few other places. I am not exactly sure where the other places are. I know she said so, but I can't remember. When it happens, I will let you know. It is just an exciting thing to be publishing your book. I self published a cook book for Fibromyalgia. My brother did the recipes and I did the introduction. It is a bit dated now since we now know a few more things through research about Fibro but the recipes are very yummy. They really are. Andrew is a great cook. Both of my brothers are great cooks. At one point, Andrew was considering going to cooking route through school, but changed his mind. I think he got sick of cooking and now just cooks for fun now. I used to do this every holiday meal to Andrew, especially if we were having a turkey. First, I would thaw the turkey like you are supposed to then I would go upstairs to Andrew's room and know on the door. He would say, "what?" I would ask what to do first with cooking the turkey. He would holler through the door what to do. I would go and do it. Then I would go back upstairs and ask what was next. I would do this about 3 to 4 times before he would open the door and say, "I'll be down in a minute." At that point I would happily go down the stairs and wait for him. Andrew would generally throw me out of the kitchen and finish the turkey himself, which was exactly what I wanted him to do in the first place. I did this for years before he finally figured out that I do know how to cook a turkey, but his always taste much better. This would be because he is a better cook than me. Now he lives in London and I go somewhere else for the Turkey dinner. Perhaps, at Easter I will make a dinner for people to come over. My house will be in better shape at that point.

Well, this is really becoming a long post so I better end now. I hope you are having a good day.

Tuesday 12-13

2011-12-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

Ah, Tuesday night, my favorite night of TV, NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles and soon Dance Moms too! That starts again in January on Kathy's birthday. I also see Katie and Charlie on Tuesday so that is good too. My students often make my day better. My student, Aaiyana didn't come today. Apparently, her father's car broke down and he couldn't call me and her mom's phone was dead so she couldn't call me either. We have rescheduled for tomorrow. I am glad about that. This way, she and I will still have her lesson since she is supposedly not going to be having lessons in January. I guess she isn't practicing enough. The same old store since the beginning of lessons in the world, the lack of practicing. I hear that so often. If I had a quarter for every time I have heard that in the last 25 years, I would be rich. Too bad I didn't start collecting quarters then every time I heard that. Hmm, maybe I should start now.

I can't believe that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away. This weekend the girls are coming to decorate. I am sort of not really that into Christmas this year. Last year, I was in such shock but this year I am just sad. I partly wish I could go to sleep this Saturday night and wake up January 2nd. The other part of me doesn't want to miss anything between now and the end of the year. I am having lessons the week between Christmas and New Year's. I am very happy about that. I used to have to cancel all lessons at that time because no one wanted lessons and this year they do! So far, there are a couple of cancellations for next week, but not really any for the following week as of right now. I will have my few lessons for both weeks! It is a good thing!

I am so excited that my plan for paying the property taxes so far. If I stay on track, it will be paid by the deadline! Yes, this is true! Then I shall start saving EVERY month for the 2011 taxes and some year down the road I will actually be on time and in the right year. Ugh, this is just crazy. Boy, get behind 1 year and look what happens. It is not recommended to get behind in your property taxes. It really isn't. I hope to never be behind again once I am on track again. It is such a crazy place to be.

I bought a new book for the new year. It is a book for keeping track of bills. This will improve my current system, by which I mean, tossing the bill and envelope on the table and eventually having to search to find it so I can pay it. I used to use these type books all the time and I was very organized at that time. However, I must say that once I lost the store, my organizing skills dropped big time. It also comes with a receipt organizer too. I am sure I could use that too since I also do the toss and hope I find it should I need it again. I did like being organized better than being unorganized. I am just in a daze a lot of the time from the fibro fog. Sometimes organizing takes a lot out of me because I have to concentrate for a long time and concentrating is hard for me. I get brain fog a lot. I can only concentrate for short periods of time. That is why my lessons are planned the way they are. This way, I can rest when I need to. So far, it is working out for me.

Well, NCIS Los Angeles is almost over and it is a nail biter one. Sometimes i hate nail biter ones. Suspense is not always good for me. However, since I know they wouldn't kill off the main characters, I know it will work out and it did, just in time, naturally. I love this show. I can't wait for the new ones after the New Year. From now until then, it will be re-runs. They are good and there may even be one I haven't seen yet, since I can't say that I have seen them all, but still, new ones all the time would be a good thing. I remember when I was young (my gosh, I sound like I am 90 or something!) Anyways, when I was a child and a teen, shows would run for 26 episodes during the year, now they consider a good season with 13 episodes or maybe a few more. They are shorter too. At least they still are making new shows.

I do hope you have had a good day. Mine was okay, better during lessons, but before and after were just okay.

It has been a few days since my last post! 12-12

2011-12-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Today is Hannah and Natalie's 16th birthday!!! It is so hard to believe that they are 16, soon they will be driving! Time has sure flown with those 2. They were very small when i met them. Hannah and Lydia started piano first and then about a year or 2 later, Natalie decided she wanted to learn too. About a year ago, their younger sister, Sarah, decided she wanted to play too. At one time, their brother, Peter, played the clarinet. They are a very musical family. Mary, age 3, has shown some interest in the piano too.

Last night I went to the Hubels for dinner and a movie. We watched Monte Carlo. It was quite cute and very funny. I thoroughly enjoyed it along with the the family.

I got dizzy again at church during our practice. This is the 3rd time in 2 months. I was not really happy about that. I had to leave the practice because I thought I was going to pass out again. I think it may be my contacts. I need to make sure the right prescription is in both eyes. Right now, they don't and I think that is the problem. I found the proper prescription so I will switch them this week before church on Sunday. We are singing some fun music in church right now. I love Christmas Music. I could listen to some of it all year long, but I do try to limit myself to just between the day after Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, but sometimes it is hard. Fortunately, we have to start Christmas music for lessons quite often before Halloween so I get my music early! Some students play such complicated music that they have to start in September. I don't mind at all especially this year we had the concert about 2 weeks earlier than usual. It was a nice change from waiting right until the weekend before Christmas.

Bob had a good lesson. He will be out of town next week and then he will be off on a cruise until Christmas Day. I will see him on the Wednesday that week instead of the Monday. Rachel will be absent next week too. She just moved into a new house and is getting used to her new room. She was rather tired during her lesson today. She is so cute. Isaac had good lessons today. He played piano nicely and sang his songs well too. He has a good voice and well, after my girls heard him sing, they want to sing with them. I told him he didn't have to. I am going to ask Charlie if he will sing with Isaac in the spring concert. I can't believe I am thinking ahead to the Spring Concert already. We are doing movies. My older girls will be dressed as Harry Potter Characters while Isaac will be Draco from Harry Potter. I am rather excited about that. Rachel isn't sure what she will dress as but I have some music from the Wizard of Oz that she may want to play. She has a beautiful Dorothy costume that she wore at Halloween that she can wear if she wishes. It is up to her but I think she would look so adorable as Dorothy playing "Over the Rainbow", still, it is totally up to her.

I am very exhausted this evening. I got up early for church yesterday and I did take a nap in the afternoon, but I was still a bit tired. I got up early today for my lovely girls but I didn't have time for a wee nap so I am rather exhausted this evening. I have a bit of a bad headache tonight that I didn't have earlier, thank goodness for that! My tummy has calmed down too. It was upset a bit this afternoon but now is fine. I don't know why, but hey, you never know with me. Fibro is a strange beast, you know and you never know when a flare is going to show up that is for sure. I know some of you are VERY familiar with that beast.

I have to decorate the tree still. The lights looks so pretty on it. Heather B-T did a great job on it. I now have a bag big enough to put the tree in so I can store it in the garage. I am so glad about that. I need to decorate the pianos too. I haven't done it at all yet. I am seriously thinking of having the girls come and decorate with me this weekend. I am going to ask if they have not only the time but the interest. They are such lovely girls. We are planning to see a movie between Christmas and New Year's. It will be fun.

I do hope you are having a good day.

TGIF 12-9

2011-12-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

I am glad it is Friday and that the concert was last weekend. I really am. My lights are on my tree and tomorrow I shall decorate it. I am excited about decorating the tree. The lights look so awesome that I am afraid that I will cover them too much. It took the 3 sets of lights that I had bought and it looks simply beautiful. Heather B-T did a great job. Calli picked a new Christmas song to learn for the next few weeks. It has a super hard part in it but she is doing rather well with it. Acer had decided against learning a Christmas one. He is going to learn Wade in the Water from my Ready to Sing Spirituals. I just need to burn a new CD because I am not sure what happened to the CD that I had. It is not a problem as I have it in my computer so I just have to open the toast program and then burn a new CD. I will burn a few of them so that we have extras. Emily is doing non-Christmas music now too. She is doing very well with her piano. I really thing that the computer game is helping her a lot. Laith liked the game too. so far, everyone who has tried the game likes it. I think it has been a good tool for the students. It is fun and they are learning at the same time. I like the game myself. I had to try it before they did. I haven't heard anyone say they didn't like it.

Tomorrow 2 more violins will be going to my friend, Debbie for her Good Fellows Charity Event next week. Apparently, they are very popular. I am glad they are going to good homes and they raise money for the Good Fellows Charity. I don't have many violins left. I have had a lot go to charity events this year. I have a couple of them to finish. I will do them this winter. I just don't have time right now, nor do I have the inspiration to do them. I think that is the biggest thing. I do hope Debbie brings her lovely daughter, Isabelle. She is a beautiful little girl and she is so sweet too. I think she is a really nice little one. She is in 1st grade and is in the Chinese Program at school. Acer is also in that program too only they are not in the same classroom.

I have NOT bought the new harry potter movie yet. It will only be here until the 29th and then it will be gone. I do hope to have it by then, but bills are needing to be paid so that is why I have not bought it yet. I love that movie so I plan to get it next week after I pay the doctors bills I have. I also will have some put away for the taxes. that is the really important thing to save for. I am doing pretty well being able to reach my goal by the end of each month so far. Only 3 more nerve wracking months until the deadline. So far, I am right on target after a rough beginning this summer. I will be able to start saving right away for the 2011 taxes. I am really excited about that. I will have a bit more flexibility with the budget after March. I am thankful that I am able to stay here in the house and pay the bills including the taxes. I really am glad about that. There isn't anywhere else I would rather be. My friends are here, my students are here, and my family isn't too far away.

I have had a good day despite a bad headache. It wasn't bad enough that I needed to cancel any lessons, thank goodness for that! However, it is still a bad one. I hope it finally goes back to the regular one by the time I head for bed. I only have one lesson after all tomorrow. Brianne is absent because of a family party that is about 3 hours away so no lesson for the lovely young lady. I will see her next week. I do hope you are having a good day too.

Before I forget, sometime during the 12 days after Christmas, my fellow blogger, Christine Murray, will be a guest writer of this blog. She is self publishing her book and it will be in Kindle form. I am very excited about this! I can't wait to get her book, although, I don't have a Kindle so I am not sure how I will get it, but somehow I will. I hope it is the start of a long career for her. I look forward to her being here.

Thursday 12-8

2011-12-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

It is an anniversary of sorts today. 28 years ago, I had the surgery which straightened my spine. I have scoliosis and while they could fix the big curve, the neck and the waist curve they could not. It was a new type of surgery at the time with only 5 doctors in North America trained to perform it. I had one of those doctors, in fact, I had the doctor who's son invented the new clips for the 2 steel rods fused to my spine. I didn't have a cast (like the old surgery) nor did I have a brace (like the old surgery). I had to be careful for about one year and then I could do whatever I wanted. I learned how to dance after that. That had been a dream of mine since I was a child and I finally had my first dance lesson in my junior year, in January of that year. I was 16 at the time. I loved dance. I still do, but I can't do much anymore. One of the things I regret is that when I first got sick, I threw almost all of my dance pictures out. I couldn't handle looking at them because it hurt so much to dance. The only reason I have one picture is because Mom had it in her room. She was so upset when she found out what I did but she didn't yell or anything like that at me. She just said she wished I had just put them away in a box because someday I would want them. Mom was right, but I am very thankful that I have the one that she had in her room. I remember how nervous Mom was about my surgery. I wasn't nervous or scared at all. I think partly because it didn't occur to me that it might hurt. I had watched the video (and grossed out) of what they were going to do so I was just fine. Mom, on the other hand, apparently was a nervous wreck who was not sure she wanted to sign the consent form. Finally, her friend, Bev, said she didn't have a choice or I would end up in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Mom signed. She told me about this after the surgery. I remember waking up in the recovery room. I had to go to the bathroom so they brought the portable bathroom and got me up. That was a shock to me because I didn't expect to be moved the day of the surgery. When I got back into my room, Mom was there (of course!) and so were my brothers. Richard told Mom to go to our friends house and get some sleep. He would take care of me that day and he DID. He really did. If I needed something, he was there. I will never forget that about him. He really came through to let Momma get some sleep. I was in the hospital for 10 days and then Bev drove me home. She put a mattress in the back of her van. The doctor wanted me to fly home because it would be faster than the 4 to 5 hour drive but we didn't have the money so our friend, Bev came up with the plan we eventually used. I started off sitting up in the passenger seat. I don't think we even got out of the city before I had to lie down. I fell asleep for most of the trip. I also remember Christmas Eve. Momma always had this rule (even when we were adults) that you have to go to church Christmas Eve to celebrate Jesus' birthday in order to get your Christmas presents. Well, since I had just had surgery, I was excused from church. (Mom would later read the Christmas Story from the Bible with me later that night so I would still have our tradition) Richard then quickly volunteered to stay home with me incase I needed help. Well, he got me all comfortable in my room with pillows all ready for me to sit on my bed and then he was ready to take off. I got upset so he stayed. Poor guy, he was forced to watch the TV show FAME. I loved that show so much at that time. He stayed until Mom and Andrew came home and then he left. I remember spending much of Christmas Day in bed or lying down in the family room. It was still a good Christmas. Momma had finally gotten a good job (the one she retired from in 2002) about a month before the surgery. They were so nice to her about being off for my surgery. It was really a good, family owned company at the time. Her new bosses even sent me a get well soon card. During the Christmas vacation, Kathy came over and we decided we wanted to go to a movie. Well, her mom and my mom were rather nervous about this. I said I could stay up that long. I proved it by watching TV and playing some games with Kathy for a few hours. Finally, Mom said okay. Kathy's mom would drop us off and Momma would pick us up. Everyone was so worried I might fall with the snow and the ice. I didn't, Kathy did. She slipped on some ice but wasn't hurt. We went and saw the movie and had a good time. Of course, there is very few times when Kathy and I are together that we don't have fun. It is just hard to believe that 28 years have passed. The rods are fused to my back. There is no way they can remove them. I can't feel them. I can break every other bone in my body except where the rods are, not that I wish to experiment with that.

Speaking of Kathy, I have very sad news. Her Grandmother (92) passed away this afternoon. Apparently, her grandmother had a stroke a couple of days ago but she didn't wake up. Kathy was able to see her in the hospital. This will be a tough Christmas for her and her family. This grandmother was her Mother's mom. It is just very sad. I spoke to her a bit after she received the news. I knew immediately when she called me right back that she had bad news. Please, if you can, say some prayers for her and her family. Even if you expect it, it is something you can't ever be prepared for, or at least I don't think you can.

this has been a sad day for Kathy. It will be hard for her, but we will be together for Christmas so that is good. I hope your day was good.

Wednesday 12-7

2011-12-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

I have a couple lessons tonight that I am looking forward too. I have Natalie and Beth. I hope Beth is feeling much better because last week she was really sick so I do hope she is much better. We are working on the music she needs for the musical she is in, Jekyll and Hyde. Beth has come so far in her voice since she began lessons last spring. I won't see her at all in January, but I hope she is back in February. Natalie is also a voice student. She is doing very well too.

I really slept in today. I was so exhausted from not sleeping too well the night before that I slept a lot last night. I did my usual waking up a lot, but that was normal. I am not too surprised that I slept in as much as i did, but a little bit surprised. I rescheduled my doctor's appointment for the blood test to Friday. I am not sure what I was thinking, but I am glad that I did as I would have slept through the whole thing and that would have been bad.

On the radio, the host was talking to some guests about getting through the holidays when you are in a rough spot. It made me think of last Christmas when I think I was a total zombie through the whole thing. I don't remember too much about the season except that I slept a lot and cried a lot. In some ways I am sadder this year at times because the shock has worn off and other times I am okay. I think I am doing pretty well but I still have my rough spots and days. It is hard to be happy all the time, I think, whether or not you are in mourning because things happen. They were talking about all sorts of hardships, death, divorce, financial, and things like that. I am thankful to be living in a house and the fact i am not homeless. I was very worried about that last year. I really was because when Momma passed away I didn't have very many students and my disability wouldn't cover all the bills. Now, I am not worried at all. I work part-time and I have my disability, which pays the bills. I like the lessons I have, I know there is no way I could work full time right now, in the future, maybe, but not right now, today. I have enough to keep busy but also not too many where I can't rest when I need too and resting is very important. I am thankful that a few weeks ago when I felt a crash and burn beginning to happen (also known as a flare) that I rested enough to not go into it. I do wish Mom was here with me. I will wish that for the rest of my life. I miss her. I miss both the woman she was without Alzheimer's and the woman she became with Alzheimer's. she was so scared all the time and so dependent on me. It was nice to feel important to someone. I knew she needed me and once I got over myself, I didn't mind. Yes, when she first was diagnosed I was a bit resentful that she wanted to be with me all the time, however, that didn't last too long because she needed me. As she got sicker, I just took over more duties for her that 's all. At first, when she was first diagnosed, I thought she would need a nursing home and I did look into them. They are very expensive and I don't see how the care was any better (in our case, other people have no choice, they need that type of care) than what I was doing. She didn't need the 24/7 care that many people needed so I was very lucky. I was able to keep her home and she liked being at home. Yes, at times it was scary. There are times now that I am scared but I don't think the fear is all consuming like it was last year at this time. I was so afraid all the time last year for months after Mom went to Heaven. I thought I would end up homeless and starving. There were year long or more waiting lists for housing. I had food stamps for a bit, but not anymore, I don't need them now. That was helpful. I no longer have Medicaid either, just Medicare and this works for me. I don't particularly think I am lonely, except for Mom, I see my friends, family, students quite frequently. I meet up with various friends at different times of the month. I thought I would be alone for the Holidays, I am not. I went to Jennie's Mom's house with her and her family for Thanksgiving, and will spend Christmas with Kathy and her family same with most likely Easter or I will have Easter here.

My hips are pretty sore today for some reason. Every so often I get a flare in them and today seems to be the day. Silly hips, don't they know they aren't supposed to hurt? I had a bad headache this morning, but now it is the regular headache so I will be fine for lessons. I have been very lucky these last few years because rare have I had to cancel a lesson due to illness on my part. My lessons are scheduled so nicely that I can rest when I need to and I don't have too many in one day. I have had several colds over the last year but none so bad I had to cancel and on the worst days, I had no lessons or just one. I have been really blessed that way. Even my flares have not caused me to cancel! I hope the New Year is the same way.

I do hope you are having a good day and enjoying the Christmas Season. I will decorate this weekend a bit. I plan to go all out next year but not this year. This year, like last year, will be only a little decorating. I hope it doesn't snow until Christmas Eve! (After, of course, I get home for the evening!)

Tuesday! 12-6

2011-12-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

We are 6 days into December already! this month is going so fast. I got me a new Christmas Season Sweatshirt last night after lessons. It is black and says Joy. I think it is pretty cool. I now have 3 Christmas Sweatshirts. I love my sweatshirts. I have several Disney ones. (that shouldn't surprise anyone) I had a few lessons today. Charlie stayed a bit later to help with the new batteries. He put the new batteries in the cases for my scooter. The scooter store said it was easy, well, I have news for them, it wasn't. Charlie did a good job though and the new batteries are charging as we speak. I am supposed to charge them a lot this week. I sure hope this is the answer to my scooter issues. I will test it out on the weekend when the batteries are very charged.

Julie is coming tomorrow again to help with the family room. I rescheduled my blood test to Friday. I am going to bed earlier than usual tonight since I will be getting up early.

I do hope you are having a good day!

Monday 12-5

2011-12-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

It was back to normal for me today. I had three lessons this afternoon, Rachel, Bob, and Isaac. We all talked about the concert. I think they did well and told them so. Isaac did very well for his first concert. This was Rachel's 2nd concert and she did really well too. I showed Isaac what games on the computer I want him to play for his piano lesson. He thought the game looked fun. I loaned him the disc so he can download it on his computer. I think this will help him a lot. Bob also did very well at the concert too.

I slept in a bit today. I was just so tired from standing so much yesterday. My right side was very sore by time I came home last night after dinner. I needed to help some of my little ones for the concert so I was standing a lot in the beginning of the concert and then again at the reception after the concert. Many of the families stayed for the reception. Usually, we are in the social hall for the reception, but this time we were in the library. It worked out well.

My table looks so nice with the new Christmas Plant on my new tablecloth. I took the other one back because I had bought a duplicate one by accident. I didn't remember buying one, but I did. I still don't remember buying it, but since the table cloth was on the counter and I had another one on the table, I had proof that I bought it so I returned one of them. I also had to pick up some milk and bread. I was almost out of both of them.

My friend, Heather B-T is putting the lights on my tree. She does them really nicely, not just wrapped around the tree. They are almost a part of the tree. It is really pretty. This weekend I will decorate for Christmas. I am going to put some garlands at the entrance of each stairs like Lily did last year. I also have a whole bunch of Disney ornaments to put on my tree. I am very excited about Christmas decorating. I have some really nice decorations. If the lights aren't finished on Friday, I can wait until next week to decorate. I don't mind. So far, my students like the lights that are on the tree. It is very pretty. I like decorating for Christmas. New Year's Eve I am going to the Bowman-Tomlinson house again. I had a really good time last year when I went. I was invited to go again. Calli was happy about that too. We love playing games together especially Uno. Calli has a Brailled set of Uno cards so she can play by herself and not have to have a partner to help her. She is a very independent young lady. I like that about her.

My legs are not as sore today as they were last night. I did wake up a few more times than usual because of the pain, but as morning arrived the pain lessened. I am a bit more tired and weary today but that was to be expected. Overall, I think I did pretty well for the concert. I had about the amount of extra pain that I expected. I gauged it pretty well. I will probably sleep in again tomorrow. I have to figure out what new songs I am giving Aaiyana tomorrow. Her mom was very upset with her last week. She said that this was the last month for Aaiyana for lessons. I don't know if she really will make her quit or not. Aaiyana apparently is not practicing like she should be. It is hard to say. She is only 8 years old. She is a delightful child to work with though and I think she is doing very well.

It has been a busy couple of weeks, with the holidays and the concert. Everything should slow down again for the rest of the month. So far, Bob and Isaac are the only ones who will have lessons during the Christmas and New Year's week. Rachel's grandmother isn't sure yet but that is okay. She is scheduled right now, but we can always reschedule if we need too.

I do hope you are having a good day.

Christmas Concert Day 12-4

2011-12-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

This afternoon was the Christmas Concert. It got me thinking. I have no idea how many Christmas Concerts I have had since I began teaching. I don't remember the first one, I do remember some of them but I don't know which one was first. I know that I used to have them at the Dance Studio when I only had a few students. Today's went a bit longer than I thought it would. It lasted about 2 hours. Woops, I thought it would only be one and a half hours. Guess I was a bit off. I think for spring I will have to re-think how many pieces the students get to do. I have had them doing two for the last few years because I didn't have that many students, but I guess that is over now again. I am hoping for more duets and small groups this spring. It all depends on what everyone wants to do, I suppose. I won't be thinking about it for a long time right now.

Uncle John and Michelle came with Jayson, my cousin to the concert. It is the first one they have ever seen of my students. Tillie and Don were here too. After the concert we went out to dinner at Red Lobster. It was so yummy! I ended up bringing home 1/2 of my salad and the bread bowl. I love their soup and salad combination. It is what I usually get although I do like their bake potatoes too. I love shrimp the most out of the sea food choices. Then we came back to my house. Tillie and Don left right away because they wanted to stop and get some groceries from the grocery store on the way home. Uncle John and Michelle stayed a while longer. Jayson was playing with the legos and the cars. He knows where the good toys are. He is such a cutie. He is 4 and goes to Junior Kindergarten. He goes to a French school so he is learning French along with Michelle. I am so glad that they all seemed to enjoy themselves and had a good time. It is nice for me to show them what I do and see how well the kids are doing. Several of them have been with been with me for a very long and it is nice to see Tillie recognized them. She has watched the Muglia girls grow up and same with Charlie. Bob had to miss a few concerts in the last year so she hasn't seem him lately. Many of my new students are brand new so they are new to everyone. I am thankful for the new and the old students. Without them, it would be difficult to get through the day and pay my bills. When I only had very few students and a lot of days free, it was hard to get through the days. Fortunately, I had Mom at that time and she helped a lot. Now it is just me but I have all the memories of her. There is a particular picture of my Uncle John and Momma from when he was young. I am going to have the picture enlarged and put it in a frame for him and then one for me as I love this picture of them together. It was taken in 1955 so Mom would have been 21 and Uncle John would be 7 as he is 14 years younger than Mom. Here is the picture:

Don't they look cute? I just love the picture. I don't know where they are but they look like they are having a good time.

I do hope you are having a good day. I am exhausted and have a bit more of a headache than usual tonight. My legs are so sore from standing so much this afternoon especially the right hip and leg.

busy Saturday 12-3

2011-12-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

It has been so busy today with getting ready for the concert. I am printing the program now on really pretty paper. It is a different program style than usual since I used some really neat paper. It is just one page not the usual booklet. I really like the paper and I totally forgot I even had it. That is definitely something I would do. I know I have some other pretty paper, I just am not sure where it is. Boy, last week at this time I was with Kathy and we had just finished watching Breaking Dawn at the movies. It was a good movie. I really enjoyed it. Surprisingly, it was pretty close to the book for the most part. A few scenes were added but they made the movie more enjoyable instead of distracting. I got up a bit earlier than usual for a Saturday so that Brianne could have her lesson. She is pretty ready for the concert. Sandra and Camille are definitely ready for the concert. I have to put the presents together and then that is it for the concert. I have the plates and cups in the car already so that is good! I am very tired now after running around a bit this afternoon and evening. I had to go and get ink because I thought the ink was going out. So far, it is doing well. Then earlier, I had to get gas because I was at a 1/4 tank and I don't like to be below that in the winter. I know my car sits in the garage, but still if it is super cold out, it might not start so I have to keep it at at least 1/2 tank all winter. It just makes me feel better if I do. It is something Mom taught me when I started driving. Never leave the car below 1/4 tank in the coldest of winter, your gas lines could freeze and that would be bad! (Not to mention expensive to fix!)

I sure hope I print enough programs this time. I used to have this down to a science, but not anymore! The years of not having a lot of students has thrown me off my track. So far I have printed 45. I want to print 15 more. I used the entire pack of paper so how ever many it prints is it for me. I hope it will be enough. I think so. There aren't that many students, only 23 so I should have enough. I did realize earlier today that I don't have enough mugs for Christmas gifts. I have enough for the concert, but not for the ones who are not in the concert. My printer is printing very slowly right now. I don't know why. Maybe it always does and I just have not ever noticed. I have to copy the music for Jingle Bells tonight for tomorrow too. Everyone is singing Jingle Bells at the end of the concert. The programs are almost finished printing. Then on to the mugs, stockings, pencils, and candy for the treat bags. I was really unsure how to wrap the mugs but these treat bags should work wonderfully, I hope anyway.

I was able to talk to Kathy this evening. Her parents are moving in a few months to a retirement community. It has assisted living and a nursing home within the community if one of them should need it. While I am glad that they are looking ahead (they are in their mid 70s), I am sad that it is so far away from me. However, Kathy and I will do just fine when she comes to visit. It is about 45 to 60 minutes away. I have a general idea of where it is so that is good. I don't plan to let something like this stop Kathy and I from visiting. I am also hopeful that Kathy will be coming to visit me some time in the new year by herself. We had a good time when she came last year. It was so sweet, her daughter wished her to have a good time. She has very sweet little girls. All four of her children are just very nice children. Matthew, her oldest is getting very tall (he is 13), Jacob is also growing like a weed (he is 10 or 11), and the twins are still sweet little girls (they are 5). Kathy and family will be coming for Christmas as usual. I am excited about seeing her. I have no lessons on Christmas Eve as the online company is closed that day. I figured that most people would be busy that day anyways so I didn't expect any lessons. I do hope to have a lot during the week between Christmas and New Years. I am not going anywhere so if students are available so am I!

Well, my printing is almost done printing and it is time to work on the treat bags! I do hope you are having a good day. I have had a bit of a bad headache most of the day, but I was able to teach so that was good. I wasn't sure first thing in the morning, but it turned out okay! Tomorrow will be crazy with the concert but it will be a good time.

It's Friday! 12-2

2011-12-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

I thought I picked up everything I need for the concert. Except, I forgot the ink for the printer. Woops! I will go tomorrow after lessons to pick it up. I have the treat bags that all of the presents will go in. It shall be awfully cute I think. I also got the cookies for the concert reception. I am going to work on the program in a few minutes after I finish this post. I will print the program tomorrow after lessons too. I can't believe the concert is here already. It is just amazing how fast November went. Now it is December and the Christmas Season again. It is still rather weird to me to be celebrating the Christmas Season without my mother. She loved the season so much. She would get all excited about decorating and planning our gifts and surprises. Mom was so good at surprises. Mom and I also would usually see a show during the season or we would get the tickets for a show after Christmas. The last show we saw was the Broadway Version of "White Christmas". It was wonderful and we both had a really good time. Since money was super tight at that point, (I had no income at this time because we had just lost the store) it was our Christmas present to and from each other. It worked for me. I didn't expect anything else but Mom bought me the music carebear. I really love it. It makes me think of Mom and smile when I see it. It is one of many stuffed animals Mom had bought me. She bought me many Winnie the Pooh and friends too. I also got her a couple of other things for that Christmas. We had a good time on Christmas. We went to church Christmas Eve as usual and she did very well. We had stopped going to church because Momma just couldn't sit through the service but that one she did really well. I was happy about that. We sat with Kathy and her family.

I was wondering how I was going to wrap the mugs for the students. Well, I got some treat bags and that will work perfect. I just didn't get the ornaments done. I couldn't sew. Sewing was something I did with my mother and right now, without her, I can't really do it. Maybe later I can, but not right now. It just hurts too much to do. Some much still hurts so much to do without her. Most of the time I am okay but some things are still super hard for me. I also have the cutest little stockings for the students. i will fill them with candy kisses and Christmas pencils. Maybe next year I will be able to go back to my sewing ornaments for the kids. I will have to wait and see.

Calli and Katie practiced their duet again tonight. They will do very well. We tried to have maracas during the song but it really distracted them so no maracas, just voices. We tried it and they didn't like it so that is okay. Acer is ready for both his vocal piece and his piano piece. Calli has been ready for about a week now. I don't know why I worried about her piano piece. She plays it beautifully. Calli has been ready for a couple of weeks for her vocal pieces. Emily is very ready too. I think at this point everyone is very ready for the concert. I am glad we are having the concert earlier in the season this year. It frees up the rest of the season for everyone to do whatever they want to do. I hope we have it this early again next year. I have discovered I like it earlier in the season rather than later like I used to do. For some of the students, next week means choosing what they want to perform at competition. Katie is going and she needs to figure out what all she wants to sing. I think I know what classical piece she wants, it is the rest of her songs I am not sure about. Rebecca has already decided. She is singing a classical piece, an inspiration piece, and a Broadway piece. We have been working on them already. Aggie hasn't totally decided everything yet. They are really the only ones who are attending. It is a low number for me, but that is okay. I have a lot of new students who are really not ready to compete. It is okay though. Maybe some of them will want to compete next year.

It has been a productive type day, although I was so exhausted this morning. I do hope your day was good too. I have a bit of a bad headache now, I hope it goes down to the normal headache by bedtime, otherwise, it will be hard to sleep and I have to get up a bit early for a lesson.

Thursday 12-1

2011-12-01T20:19:00.000-08:00

It is the first day of December! Oh my! I am unprepared for Christmas and the New Year! Sunday is the Christmas Concert. That, I am some what prepared for. I have the students Christmas presents, I just have to wrap them. I wish I could get some plain white bags because that would be so much easier to use that to wrap them. The gift they got is difficult to wrap. I will find something that will work though. I will stop by the craft store tomorrow to see what they have. A cool stocking would be neat too. Who knows? I will find something.

My friend, Laura stopped by tonight. She was picking up a lot of the raffle items for the event she is involved in this weekend. I think I have about 10 violins left and I am very excited about that. There are a couple that are not painted. I may do the this winter. I am not sure. I will see how this winter goes. I don't have to have them done and if I don't that is okay.

Choir went well tonight. We are not singing in the Christmas Eve services. I am relieved because I was planning on going to church with Kathy and family. I think I should be able to be there Christmas Day though. I will see. I won't be there this Sunday but I should be there for the next two before Christmas. We are singing some pretty awesome music. We really are. I like all of it. This Sunday is the song "Joy, Joy, Joy" but I won't be there because of the Christmas Concert. I have to pick up some black ink tomorrow too since I know I will be out before the end of the printing of the concert program. I am going to begin the program on Friday and print on Saturday afternoon/evening. I also will clear the dining room table on Friday or Saturday so it is empty for Sunday. I hope to have a new table cloth for it too. I am not sure, but I will try.

I was so tired this morning. I am slept pretty well for a change. I am hoping for another decent night sleep tonight. I am tired now so I will be heading upstairs rather soon. I did wake up once and had to come down and read for a few minutes but then I didn't wake up again for several hours, which is really awesome. I will read for a bit to exhaust myself even more. I have to go through my books and see what I don't want and what I do. That will be the hard part, choosing books to donate or take to the used bookstore. I like taking them to the used bookstore because then I get the lower prices of the new to me books I buy. I won't go and get anymore right now, but eventually I will after the property taxes are paid. I have another payment ready to go out tomorrow after I go to the bank. It will be a big one and I am excited about it. This will bring the payments close to what I was hoping for. I am thankful for that. Only 3 more months of these huge payments to save for and then 2010 taxes are all paid for. Then I can start on 2011, which I got a bill for today. Oh my, the never ending property taxes! At least it is less than last year's at this time.

I do hope you are having a good day. It started as a not feeling so hot day to a better day. 24 days until Christmas!!

Some progress being made!

2011-11-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

Julie came over this morning (yes, I mean the real morning, not after 12 noon) to help me with the family room. We are making good progress. Sometime this week, I am to go downstairs and start separate the books that I want from the ones that I don't. I can do this. There are a lot books down there. I also found some nice Disney ornaments that I am putting on the tree this year and those that don't fit on the tree will be used next week. This year, I am going to have the little one upstairs, but next year, I will put the little one on the fireplace or the sewing table and then buy a new, bigger tree for the living room. In the spring we will go up to the attic and pull down what is up there and go through it. I know there are a lot of Christmas boxes up there as well as two trees that I don't think are in good shape. I could be wrong, but I won't know until we look at them next spring. So we have designated some stuff to go to Kathy (2 boxes full of games for the kids, 2 that have never even been opened) and then some for donation in general as well as stuff to toss. We have space on the floor that we haven't had in a long time. I am very excited about that. Once the books are out of the way and I know what I am keeping, then we will bring the bookshelf in the living room back downstairs where I like it. the little bookshelf that was in the family room will go in the living room for the games. i also found some Christmas Beanie Babies I didn't remember i had as well as this beautiful precious moment statue. It is of Joseph as a shepherd. It is wonderful. We also found a Bambi Christmas Snow globe. Lots of treasures found today. It was very exciting. I now can't wait to decorate the tree. If they have time on Saturday, Ross and Julie will come over and then we can take some of the bar stools to the donation place. I don't want them and I tried to sell them, but no one wanted them so that is okay, I will donate them. They are in very good condition. We also have craft and sewing things on the shelf unit on the round table side. That is the craft room. It is so nice to see the crafts and materials on the shelves. It makes me smile because our room is getting back to normal and that is good. The only thing I need to do in the family room with the lamps is see about getting new lampshades. The old was are ripped a bit from childhood so that needs to be fixed. We are starting with the family room, the working our way up the stairs. Some of the dining room will be taken care of because the DVDs and the books will be going back downstairs where I like them as well as the tools that are sitting behind me. I now have a tool box to put them in again. I am very glad about that.

I am really exhausted tonight. I will be heading to bed rather early with hopes that I will actually sleep. I didn't sleep very well last night at all. I don't know why, but I couldn't sleep and then I had nightmares in the morning before I woke up. I hope tonight is not a repeat. I don't think it will be, but I will pray that I won't anyways. A little pray certainly can't hurt the situation. One little chuckle we had this morning. Julie found my etiquette book (one of several) and she opened to a page that said what to do in a certain situation, well I have a relative who is in that situation and I found it funny because Miss Manners says to avoid this situation at all costs! We both chuckled at that one. It was pretty funny. I bought the books so I would be up on proper etiquette for email, messaging, and things like that. I wanted my employees to be well mannered so that we all could get through any situation that arose. It didn't actually always work, but I did get some of my points across. A couple I bought because they were humorous books about etiquette, called "The Etiquette Grls" with the i purposely missing. They were really funny and very helpful. Mom and I enjoyed them.

I do hope you are having a good day. The progress we made was wonderful although I should point out Julie did most of the work as I can't stand very well or go up and down stairs very well, not too mention walk very far. I so appreciate her help with this project.

Monday 11-28

2011-11-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

November is almost over. It is almost December and with that comes Christmas! It is weird to think that again I will be celebrating Christmas without Mom here with me. It seems like a bad missing Mom day. I have them from time to time and I probably will for a long time. I dreamed about her last night for a bit and then I woke up. It seemed so real to see her and hear her but it will be a while before I actually get to talk to her again. It is just one of those days.

Monday is a busy day with lessons again. I am very glad about that. I actually cannot add anymore to that day, it is booked. If I have anymore, it will overdo me and that would be bad. I am looking forward to the concert on Sunday. So far, all the students seem to be ready. Two of my girls switched one of their Christmas Songs for a song they already know because they just switched to me (their teacher retired) so I said they could. The other Christmas song for each of them was just not quite ready enough for them to feel comfortable performing. Bob switched his 2nd Christmas song today from the Christmas Song to Winter Wonderland. He plays both well, so it is not a problem.

I am freezing a bit tonight. I am not sure why. I keep the house at 73 degrees and yet I am still rather cold. I have a sweatshirt on and everything. If I need to, I have a hoodie handy to put on.

I bought some mini lights for the tree. They are multi color but the ones that are on the bottom half of the tree are clear so I went back to the store and then didn't have any clear ones. I have to try another store before Friday as on Friday I am hoping my friend, Heather B-T will be able to put them on the tree. I am not sure when I am decorating the tree, but I would like the lights on to be ready. I don't think it will be this weekend as the concert is on Sunday and I have some work to do for it on Saturday. I have to create the program, which is a lot of fun to do. I already told Aggie she will be near the end as she is one of the advanced students. Brooke will be near the end too. I try to put all my little ones first and then my middle ones, and then the advanced ones. I also like to alternate between voice and piano with a tenor saxophone thrown in there too. I have to buy a package of cookies this week for the concert too. I will get some nice decorated Christmas ones. They will work perfect. I don't have time to make any this year plus I find I eat too many when I make them. It is super annoying about that but I do it without even thinking.

My lovely neighbor/friend, Barbara Jean sent her 2 boys over to take care of my recycle bins. For some reason, I have 2 of them. Mom somehow got another one a few years ago. One day, it just appeared so now I have 2 and they are super full. I have boxes at my front door that need to go to recycling next week. That should bring me up to date with my recycling. Right now both my bins are at the end of driveway. It is so nice to have the little car in the garage. I get a thrill every time I open or close it when I am either leaving or coming home. It is just so exciting.

Julie is coming on Wednesday to help me re-organizing my family room. There are several things that are going to be donated or sold. I only want the elliptical exercise machine. I don't want the rest. There is an old TV that still works with the new type boxes that will be donated along with its TV stand. Then again, I am debating between keeping the smaller one and getting rid of the bigger one. Julie and I will discuss this and see what is best. I am anxious to have a sewing/craft room as well as the library/TV room. I have a DVD player downstairs already as well as a VCR but I am donating the VCR because I don't need it anymore because I am giving all my videos to one of my friends. I have many DVDs of the videos that I have so I don't need the videos anymore. I am going to be saving for a Blue Ray player in the future. It seems that some of the newer movies are not coming out on DVDs but as combo packs of DVDs and Blue Ray. I don't know why, but that is the way it is. I am glad that the Blue Ray players play DVDs too because to re-buy everything that I have on DVD would be so upsetting and not doable at all so I am glad they play. I want the DVD/Blue Ray combo pack of the Harry Potter movie from target. I plan to purchase it next week since I will be able to this month. It is planned in the budget.

hmm, 11-27

2011-11-27T14:43:00.000-08:00

Some many things are racing through my mind tonight. I don't know why but they are. Things I need to do, things I want to do, things I don't want to do, you get the picture. There is so much I just don't know anymore. I have so many questions about what to do with my life outside of teaching, that there is no question about. I was born to teach and I love it. I can't teach as much as I would like, but I am thankful for what I can do. I think that is the biggest question. I had to get up early about 5 days this past week. I felt a crash and burn coming on with the bad headache that I would wake up with and the overall bad feeling. Yesterday walking from the car to the movie theatre entrance, then to the ticket booth, then to the snack bar, and finally into our theatre was exhausting and painful. By the time we sat down my legs and hips were burning. Fortunately, it didn't last too long, but it was burning. I think it was all a part of the about to crash and burn again flare. Since I could feel it coming, I didn't set my alarm to go to church today. I just couldn't because I really felt like I would have woken up to crash and burn mode and that generally means a ER visit. I think I avoided it. There are a couple of openings left for students and then that will be it unless one quits. Thursdays are full to the rim but I do have one opening on a couple of other days. I am almost to the limit. Once i reach there, I will have to call the online company and let them know that until a student quits, I can't take anymore. In some ways it is a nice feeling to know I am almost full, in other ways it isn't because I used to be able to handle 50 to 60 lessons a week without a problem. Now I couldn't do it at all. It is just too exhausting. I really enjoyed myself this long weekend and I did pace myself as best as I could so I am pleased with that. I just needed today to really rest and I did that. I did have 2 lessons, but they were low key students and it was fun but the rest of the day is resting. I am very glad that I had my students today because they allowed me to have the day off yesterday to be with Kathy and I am glad about that. It just makes me wonder about a lot of things. I no longer feel the crash and burn feeling and the headache is the normal headache now but what would have happened if I had gone to church? I nearly passed out last week too so would I have had that happen this week? I don't know but I wasn't going to find out either. I don't know what is going on with this lightheadedness but no one seems to be too worried about it. It doesn't happen all the time, but every so often. I hope it goes away soon.

Aggie had her lesson today after not having one for a very long time. I was happy to see her. i copied her song on my computer for the concert so I now have it. I have a copy of Breanna's song too. I just need to copy it on the computer. I need to put the concert in order. I will do that this week. I will be working on the program during the week but I won't be printing it until Saturday because if I print it earlier, than I always end up needing to print it again, this way, I don't. i won't be going to church next Sunday because of the concert. I will need the extra rest in the morning to get through the afternoon. I know this from previous concerts. I have about a good 5 to 6 hours a day and that is about it. Anything after that is very iffy and I can't guarantee that I am with it or able to function. I have a very limited window and that is just the way this illness leaves me. I am glad I have that window though because some people I know, don't even have that. After a couple of hours they are wiped out. At least I get a good 5 or 6 hours out of it. Camille also had her lesson today. She graciously switched from yesterday to today so I could spend the entire day with Kathy and family. We went over the jingle bells songs that everyone is singing at the end at the end of her lesson. I think she enjoyed the singing. Her piano pieces are doing well. I am very pleased with her progress. She doesn't want to go to competition this year either. That leaves Aggie, Katie, and Rebecca for competition this year. Calli is just too busy and so is Acer so they are planning to go next year. Hey, what works for them, works for me.

I am going to get some dinner now. I am kind of hungry. Then I am going to do a bit of sewing, mostly cutting out the ornaments before I go to bed. I am very tired tonight. I foresee going to bed rather early for a change since I am so exhausted. I am glad I didn't get the crash and burn flare that was coming or at least I hope I missed it by resting more today than usual. I can always hope.

I do hope you had a good Thanksgiving weekend and are enjoying your day.

Saturday 11-26

2011-11-26T16:52:00.000-08:00

I just got a crazy phone number. Apparently, I qualify for a $125 gift certificate because I use my bank card a lot in the last 6 months. I don't carry cash as it manages to disappear way too fast. However, once I got to the "supervisor" he wanted the expiration date of my card, and the actual card number although he called it something else. I am not giving someone over the phone my card. It makes me wonder how many will fall for this and give them the number. It was very scary. I hung up on him. I did say, no thank, goodbye. Really! I mean oh my gosh! The scams these people have today. He kept calling it the legal description (I knew I would remember somehow) to make it sound like he didn't want the number but that is exactly what they wanted. Wow, that was a clever scam, let me tell you. It is frightening that many people would fall for this. It is crazy.

On a better note, I spent mostly the entire day with Kathy and family. I arrived shortly after noon and then we had lunch, which was so yummy, let me tell you! Kathy's Mom is a great cook! So anyways, Kathy, her family, and I chatted away during the lunch. I think I ate too much, although I did do very well with the choices I made. I ate lots of vegetables (and I don't mean the mashed potatoes). The mixed vegetables were particularly yummy and so was the corn on the cob. The turkey and dressing were very yummy too. I like dark meat so that is what I had. After lunch, I helped a bit with the clean up. I tried to be as helpful as possible. I collected all the plates and cutlery that were on the table and took them to Kathy who would put them in the dish washer. Kathy and I chatted a bit while I drooled over his Nook color. She has some really interesting books on there and she said some were free even! I do want one. Now there are 2 things I want, a Blue Ray player and a Nook Color although a regular Nook would be nice too. I am not that picky. Kathy and I went to see Breaking Dawn. Now, I still have not seen Eclipse, but I will watch it this week. Breaking Dawn was very good. I was not sure about it because the first 1/2 of the book doesn't have too much action after the wedding, but it was really good. The downside is that we have to wait another YEAR before part 2 comes out unlike the 2 parts of Harry Potter, which came out 6 months apart. I wish they would do that with Breaking Dawn, but they aren't. I will wait as it isn't like I have too much of a choice but to wait. I know am going to re-read the entire series as soon as I finish the book I am reading right now.

It is such a cool thing to have a car in the garage! I get a thrill down my spine every time I open or close it. I am just so happy about putting my baby car in the garage! (It is amazing how the little things in life can make you happy) It will be especially nice for Sunday mornings when I have to be at church so early. No more scraping the car windows in the morning before church. After church, well, then it doesn't matter if the car is covered in snow. I want to move the round, card table that is in the garage. Come this winter it will get awfully dirty being in front of my car so I will move it during the day tomorrow. I so love that my car is in the garage! I really do!

I have a bit of a bad headache now. It is on the right side of my head. I woke up with it but I wasn't going to let it get me down. It was better this afternoon after I took my pain pills, but now it is back. I am resting mostly this evening anyway so it won't interfere with anything that I am doing.

I am going to be starting the sewing tomorrow afternoon in between lessons. I brought down the material this morning when I came down the stairs. I will bring up the rest of the material tomorrow afternoon.

I went to go and get my hair washed yesterday but the salon was closed. It was also closed when I went to check after the movie. I am going to be brave and try to do it myself. My shoulder seems to be doing okay this weekend, so i will try. I usually have the local salon do it because of my shoulder. It is very difficult to wash my hair and dry my hair with one arm that won't reach but I have noticed that it isn't as difficult to lift these past few weeks. After my last lesson, Rebecca, I will attempt to wash my hair. We shall see how well it works! If it does work, I won't need to go and get it done for me although I will admit that I do like having someone else doing it for me! It makes me feel important and a queen! Mom used to do it until about 7 months before she passed away. It was just one more thing to find another way to do myself or find another person to do it. When I started getting it done, it was only $3 for the wash and the dry, now it is $10. I think it is worth it.

The American Girl Place in Chicago commercial is on right now. I can't wait for Kathy's girls to get into American Girl stuff. I have been the store in Chicago about 2 or 3 days after it opened. It was very busy that day but it was worth looking at. I am hoping that if Kathy ever takes the girls, then I will go with them. I love the American Girl stuff. I used to get Samantha and Celia American Girl stuff when they were small. They are my cousins. Now they are 22 and 25 years old. they grew entirely way to fast. Celia is a parent now. She has 2 small children, 5 and 3 (around at that age I think).

I forgot to gather the DVDs, books, and games that are going to Kathy. I am loaning her some books and I am giving her the DVDs and games but I forgot to get them together yesterday. I will give them to her at Christmas. That will be the next time I see her, I think.

I do hope you have had a good day. I sure did. Pain level, while a bit higher than usual, didn't interfere with the day like sometimes it does.

The Day After Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

My little red car is in the garage. I am so excited about that. The boxes that needed to be moved, are moved. The scooter has it's own place as does the lawnmower, edger, blower, carpet cleaner (which will be moved back into the house soon. I don't like it in the garage when it is to clean inside carpets), and the snow blower, which I am not sure if it works either. Anyways, i am super thrilled with the garage and the fact that my car is inside of it. Now it can snow. My car is ready for the winter. I am not ready for the winter, but the little car is. My friend and neighbor's children came to help and they did a great job. I even have stuff to donate. The sad thing is I must have donated the snow globes that I thought were in the garage last spring. They are not in any of the boxes we looked at. Oh well, I hope whoever has them is enjoying them. I did really like them, but these things happen. I just checked the Disney website and they don't have the ones I have anymore. I didn't think so as the Beauty and the Beast one was about 15 to 17 years old and the Mickey Mouse one that was Mom's was about 5 years old. I am sad over them but not too terribly sad because I do have plenty of Disney stuff in the house and in my room. The kids also took several of Mom's boxes back into her room so I can put her stuff back up. Why they were taken out in the first place, I don't know but they were and now they are back.

I am going to the Hubel's for dinner tonight and for a movie. I am not sure what we are going to watch, but it will be kid friendly and fun. It was so cute because Carolyn came in the house and said I was coming to their house at 8 pm for dinner and movie. I was like, okay, sounds fun to me! I really appreciate the help they gave me.

Tomorrow I am going to Kathy's parents' house for the day and then she and I are going to see Breaking Dawn. All this excitement is going to totally wear me out by Sunday but I am enjoying it. I do have 3 lessons on Sunday, Aggie, Camille, and Rebecca. Katie will have hers on Tuesday so that will be good. I wonder if I can have Callie come at that time or if it would be too late for the young lady. She has to get up quite early for school. I shall see on that one. My Emily will be here shortly.

I do hope you are having a good day. I am very excited over the garage! That has made my month.

Thanksgiving Day 11-24

2011-11-24T17:52:00.000-08:00

I had a really good day. I went to my friend, Jennie's Mom's house for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful! The food was abundant and delicious! I brought rolls. You wouldn't think that choosing rolls for the dinner would be difficult, but there are so many to choose from. I finally chose the Hawaiian sweet rolls. They looked really yummy and let me tell you, they sure were! All of Jennie's siblings, Kate, Chaz, and Margie, along with their families were there. They were also celebrating two birthdays, Jennie's daughter, Mary, 2, and Chaz's daughter, Liz, 6. Both girls got some very nice presents. I was sitting in the back because I wanted the family to see better. Liz brought me all her presents to show me. She also changed out of the dress she was wearing into the new dress that Grandma got her. It was a kind of dress I would have worn as a small child! It was so beautiful. She looked like a little princess. It was nice to see all of Jennie's nieces and nephews as well as her children. She has 4. The oldest 2 are 10, then 8, and finally, 2. I must say it was very nice to be a part of a big celebration. I will also have a nice celebration at Kathy's parents with her and her family on Saturday. We are going to see Breaking Dawn too. I have not seen Eclipse yet. it isn't looking like I am going to before Saturday either. I will actually see the movie when i am not "prepped" to see it. I have read the books, but I meant to re-read them and re-watch the movies before I saw "Breaking Dawn" but that is just not going to happen. I have sewing to do instead. I am planning to start tomorrow after the kids come over to help me for a bit in the garage. Tomorrow night my can WILL FINALLY be in the garage! It can snow after that because my baby will be in the garage all snug and safe! I am very excited about it! I really am. This particular car has NEVER been inside the garage and now it will! Woo-hoo! I have great neighbors and friends. I really do. My friend, Jennie also said today to let her know if I need any help with anything around the house. I can't think of something right now, but I am sure something will come up in the future. Like I said, I am so thankful for my friends.

Tomorrow after the kids come for helping in the garage, I will cut out all the ornaments. I am putting up one of the portable tables up so in the living room for sewing. I don't want to have the sewing machine on the dining room table because the table is very old and while it is solid now. I don't want the slight shaking of the sewing machine to loosen the table up. Bill just tightened in a few months ago for me. I was so happy that that was all it needed and I didn't have to buy a new table set. This winter I will re-glue the chairs. All four of them need it. Right now there is only 1 dining room chair at the table. Two of the chairs are the folding type and where I sit is my office chair which will hopefully go back down into my office sometimes this winter or spring. Either way is fine for me. I am not in a hurry. Eventually, I will get the downstairs all taken care of.

I am feeling a bit better about the holidays this year. Last year I was so sad that I couldn't even imagine how to get through them. I survived though. How, I am not sure, it is a blur. I do know that my cousin, Cathy, came to see me for the week of Thanksgiving and I spent Christmas Eve and Day with Kathy and her family. That helped. This year, being with Jennie and her nice, big, extended family was wonderful. It is hard without my mother as we have never been separated, physically, for this long ever. Even when I was a child and went to camp, I wasn't gone too long, just 6 weeks so to be separated for 13 months, is a lifetime to me. I am not always so sad these days, although I have my moments. I try to think what Mom would want me to do if I ever would have left her tell me. I couldn't handle her talking about when she wasn't here. I should have let her because I don't really know what Mom would want me to do. She did say she wanted to be strong and not fall apart. Well, I didn't. I planned everything and was strong. It was the hardest thing I had ever gone through. Lily and Julie decorated last year for Christmas. I think they will help me again this year. I do want to get the box that is in the crawl space though because it has more Christmas stuff in it of mine. I bought some new window clings for the living room and the dining room. They are so very cute. I have some old ones too but I don't know how well they will work since they have been used over and over. I will see which ones are still usable. I like the window clings. I have other window clings that I found recently. I think they are the Winnie the Pooh and friends. I plan to put lots of Window clings on the dining room and the living room's windows. Next summer, I am going to go and see what is in the attic. I know that there is a lot of Christmas stuff including two trees. the trees are so old now that they probably aren't any good and I don't need them either but there are some ornaments that I do want up there. The ones I don't that are still good I will donate next fall. I am not sure exactly what is up there though. I know there are some toys but I don't know which ones. I will find that out too. I love the Christmas Season, I always have. There was a time that I hated the actual holiday itself because of family strife, but the Season was usually good. Mom made a lot out of the Christmas Season when we were small. When Richard moved to North Carolina, we started spending Christmas at Richard's house so we didn't decorate as much here at home. I won't go all out, but I do want to have some decorations out this year.

I hope you had a good day, I did.

procrastination of Heather 11-23

2011-11-23T18:40:00.000-08:00

I have been procrastinating on my sewing project and it is weird because I love to sew so I am not sure why I am procrastinating on it. I haven't even cut the ornaments out. Nope, not even one little ornament. I am behind my own schedule and I have no reason, no excuse, no nothing, just good old fashion procrastination. I am sort of disappointed in myself because I have been procrastinating on this sewing, but on the other hand, I just haven't been in the mood to sew. It is weird. i haven't really done any sewing for just over a year now. I plan to cut them out on Friday because I will have 10 days to make 25 ornaments. Oh my! I know that I can do it though because they aren't super complicated and I have made them before so I know what I am doing. I am just wishing I started at the beginning of the month like I had planned. Oh well, too late to worry about that now!

Beth brought her Jekyll and Hyde music tonight. We went over several songs so she would be prepared for rehearsal on Tuesday. I am so proud of her. She has worked very hard with voice lessons and it has paid off. Allison is doing rather well with her Christmas Concert music. I think all the students are pretty close to being ready for the concert.

I am not shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I am just NOT stepping in a store this weekend. I will go to a movie, but I will not go in a store. I also have no reason to go to a store since I am making the gifts I am giving this year and I already have the supplies, I have no need to go. Thank goodness! I can only imagine how crazy it will be, it will simply be a madhouse. Last year, my cousin came over and she went shopping on black Friday. She didn't go to bed on Thanksgiving. She fell asleep until the afternoon when she was done shopping. I was glad she had a good time and was able to get a lot of Christmas Presents.

My head is a bit more sore than usual tonight. I don't know why, but then again, my head never needs a reason to do what it wants to do. Even the hair on my head is making my head hurt. I am also rather tired right now. My left shoulder is a bit sore too. I hope it is cleared up by tomorrow.

I hope you are having a good day.

Tuesday 11-22

2011-11-22T19:35:00.000-08:00

I am watching NCIS Los Angeles right now. I spoke to Georgette for about an hour and a half. She is doing well and was anxiously awaiting her Daughter, Emily's arrival home from college. Georgette is a fellow piano teacher. I met her years ago when I starting taking my students to the Michigan Music Association Competition. This is the first year she may not have any students attending. There is a big basketball tournament that many of her students will be attending the same weekend. I have about 3 going this year. Many of my students are brand new and not ready for the competition yet. Maybe next year.

Tomorrow I have a couple of make up lessons for Thanksgiving. Brooke and Brianne are going to have their lessons before lunch so they can take off to go up north as soon as their Dad gets off work. Then I just have my usual 2, Allison and Beth. I had to go and pick up a few things tonight. My milk will expire on the 24th so I had to pick up some because there is NO WAY I am going to go to a store on Friday. i also would be out of pop at that point too. It was pouring rain too when I went. Yuck! I left a few of the groceries in the car because it was raining so hard. I grabbed the milk and my medicine but I left the rolls, pop, and bread. I will get the them out of the car tomorrow when it isn't raining. I figure it will be okay overnight. I also need to call the scooter store about my scooter. The batteries don't seem to be holding a charge so I think I will need new batteries unless they say there is something else wrong with the scooter. I am hoping not. I really hope it is something simple like needing new batteries. That is an easy fix. I will find out shortly when I talk to them.

I am watching House Hunters and I am, as usual, amused at how people want certain things in a house but they don't want to pay for it. They want everything updated and fixed the way they want it right away. First thing they usually do is start saying what they will need to change, they always need to change, like an updated kitchen. It is very amusing. I get good giggles out of it. I know my house people would want to change the bathrooms. They have not been updated and won't be anytime soon. The kitchen was redone in the late 90s. We don't have stainless steel appliances, but we have nice white ones. Our carpets are old except for the family room. However, since I am NOT selling the house anytime soon, it isn't something I have to work on. I remember the realtor that was here and she was saying how I had to allow a carpet/flooring allowance. No I don't. She also wanted everything off the walls and for me to repaint everywhere except the family room. Well, I wasn't going to do that. The new owners would repaint anyways. However, I knew at that time I was not moving. People in the family wanted me too, but I didn't want to. I wanted to stay here and I am glad that I did. I have everything I need here. My doctors are all here and that is very important. I didn't want to have to get new doctors. I finally have doctors that I like and can work well with that I don't want to start over looking for new ones. Anyways, I am glad for the decision I made.

I am going to read for a bit now.

Monday 11-21

2011-11-21T17:37:00.000-08:00

It hasn't been too cold out yet this late fall. I am thankful for that. Friday, the neighbor's children will be coming to move a few things around in the garage and taking the table and chairs out so my lovely little car will FINALLY be in the garage! I can't wait for that. I really can't. I do need to charge my scooter before that. I am going to do that right now. For some reason, it won't charge. I have it plugged in but it won't show that it is charging. I will have to call the scooter store tomorrow about this. I think it means I need new batteries. They are 5 years old and they say that is about when you have to change them. I am kind of bummed because they are very expensive. I have a good place to buy them from though so that is good. They are cheaper there than from the scooter store. The scooter store is very expensive. I think I will have the repairman come and look at it though. I am doing this now because I don't need the problem at competition. That would be horrible! I so need the scooter then. I will get this fixed. Ugh, more expenses!

I am not as tired as yesterday, but I am still very tired. I slept pretty good for a change last night. I don't recall waking up a lot for a change. I usually wake about every 2 hours to roll over because of pain. My bed wasn't too messed up either so I must have slept a bit better. I am hoping for a repeat experience tonight.

So far, it looks like I will have Charlie tomorrow! I can't wait! I haven't seen him for at least a month! It has been too long! Just way to long! I think we will have an hour lesson for the next month to make up what we have missed. I like how he make up his lessons instead of just missing them. With the concert in 2 weeks, this is especially good! I want him to be super prepared for the concert. Isaac has decided to only sing at the concert. I told him that was just fine, and it is. I don't think it is my place nor something I want to do, to make or force a student to perform. I will encourage, but that is it. If a student doesn't feel that he or she is ready, then that is okay. He did just start piano a few weeks ago, so I am not surprised. We also went through the group song, Jingle Bells, boy, am I glad we went over it because there are parts that a slightly different from the regular one. For example, the Oh is held for 3 beats instead of 1 and the intro is a bit longer than usual. I also don't know the second verse very well. All my singers will be going over it in the next couple of weeks. This way, there will be enough students who know it to help the ones who don't. I will also be there to help the students. They will all have music too so it isn't like they will be in the dark about the song.

I am missing Mom a lot tonight. I think it is because of the holiday coming up. She made such a big deal about holidays. She wouldn't allow any hint of Christmas before the day after Thanksgiving. She also said that Thanksgiving deserves to have it's own day and not share it with the season of Christmas. When I was small, we always dressed up for the dinner. I only wore dresses until about 6th or 7th grade so Mom would make me special dresses for the holidays. Christmas was always a Mother/Daughter dress. I loved wearing dresses like my mom. We kept up the tradition of dressing up until a few years ago when Mom became less aware of the Holidays. I miss that tradition at times. I miss having a nice dress that is similar to my mother's. She was such a good seamstress. I am good, but not as good as her. Her tailoring skills were awesome. Momma made many suits for not only herself but for my brothers and the fit was amazing. She also was the best at fittings. her fittings were second to none. I know if she had wanted to, she could have been a very important designer but that was not her dream. Mom always said she loved sewing clothes for me because I got so excited about them. I remember that too. I cried the first time I had to buy store bought school clothes. Anyways, I digress, I just miss her a lot tonight. I am so thankful she was my mother. Yes, we had some rough times, (doesn't everyone) and at times they were pretty bad, but overall, she did her best to raise us and stand by us whenever we needed her. That is what a mother does, I think. It is kind of funny because I don't remember too much of the bad stuff anymore. It is amazing how that just fades away. I am glad, I don't WANT to remember the bad times anymore. I only want remember the good times.

I hope you are having a good day. Pain wise, it is a normal type day. My shoulder is a bit sore along with my left arm but that is really nothing new. My shoulder has bursitis so this is normal for me. My head is normal pain today so everything is pretty much the usual amount of pain. I am just a bit more tired but not as tired as yesterday.

Sunday 11-20

2011-11-20T18:17:00.000-08:00

I think I am closer to being ready for the Christmas Concert. Calli was here for an extra lesson. She is almost ready now with her piano piece and her duet. We had a good time. Rebecca was here for her lesson and we have made the choices for her competition music. She now has her Classical, Broadway, and Inspirational pieces. I am pleased with her choices. Her mom and I spoke about a great many things after the lesson. It is hard to believe that Rebecca is 10. I remember when they brought her home from Russia. Next week, Aggie will have her lesson and we will choose what she will sing for competition. Katie needs to make some decisions too. She has picked her Classical piece, Se Tu M'Ami, which is one of her best pieces ever, but Broadway and Inspirational is still up in the air.

I am so tired today. I think I am a broken record with always saying how tired I am. Today is one of the super tired days, not just the usual tired days. I missed church because I didn't feel well at 6:30 this morning. It sort of improved by 1:30 but then I went downstairs and sat in my chair with my feet up in the living room and the next thing I knew it, it was 3 pm. Yeah, I went and got something to eat and sat back down to rest some more. I just couldn't keep my eyes open. Fortunately, by the time Calli arrived I was a bit more perked. After Calli came Rebecca. I am finished for the evening now. I am going to get something to eat and then take my nighttime part 1.

I am watching Law and Order SVU. It is an old episode, I think from the first season, but it is a good one. I like this show a lot and the regular Law and Order. I did like Criminal Intent but I don't know when the show is on so I miss it a lot. I also liked the one that was on for a short time. I can't remember the name, it wasn't the Law and Order LA one, but another one. It ended because one of the actors passed away. The guy who played Lennie Brisko, however you spell it. I haven't seen a lot of the newer episodes because Mom was afraid of the show so I haven't seen it for about 3 years now. I try to remember to watch it on Saturdays when it is on but I sometimes miss it or forget it was on. It is usually on Wednesdays at 10 pm.

I have been thinking about Thanksgiving much more than I usually do. I think it is because lots of people are blogging about it too, not just me. Mom would always have us say one thing we were thankful before we ate dinner. Sometimes it was hard to think of something because it wasn't something we thought of often. Be thankful? We were children who didn't really think about things like that, not until we were older. I don't remember what I said when I was young. It was so long ago that I just don't remember that far back. I do know what I am thankful for now.

Here is my list:
1. Jesus. Without him, I would be nowhere.
2. Kathy. We have been friends for so long that I don't even have to say hello when I am crying she knows who it is immediately that is just one of thousands of reasons why I am thankful.
3. Family. Sometimes you love them, most of the time I don't understand them but when push comes to shove, often they are there.
4. Friends. I am very blessed with the friends I have. They have really helped me not only with the passing of my mother, but before she passed away. I am thankful for both my bloggy friends, facebook friends, and all the rest of my friends.
5. Mom. Even though she is in Heaven. I am so thankful she was my mother. I love her so much. Who else but Vivian A. Paxton could raise me? She knew me better than anyone else and she stood by me through everything. When I first became ill at 16, she was there, when I was ill in my mid 20s and was thinking I was going to end up bed ridden, she fought for me. We had a lot of fun together too. We would vacation together. I have so many memories of us together.

What about you? what are you thankful for? One of my bloggy friends challenged her readers to come up with 5 things you are thankful for. I am thankful that she did because it really got me thinking about thankfulness.

In this week of Thanksgiving, we have much to be Thankful for. I do hope you are having a great day.

Saturday 11-19

2011-11-19T17:22:00.000-08:00

I had my new, temporary student this afternoon. Her name is Julian and she is very nice. She is in 11th grade and they are doing "Mulan Jr." I had no idea that Mulan the movie had been made into a stage musical but I now know that they did. We worked on 3 songs that she needs. We will work more on December 3 when she has her second lesson. I really liked this young lady a lot. Camille had her lesson too and she graciously switched her lesson to Sunday next weekend so that I can spend the day with Kathy and family. Her parents are celebrating Thanksgiving on Saturday since Kathy and her family will be at Tony's family's house. I do enjoy spending time with Kathy's parents, because they are so nice and they have known me pretty much as long as Kathy has. I am excited to spend time with Kathy next weekend. It should be a good time.

I am pretty tired tonight, which is a good thing because I do have to get up early for church tomorrow. I don't know which song we are singing or where we are singing, but that is okay, I will find out tomorrow. I also want to get up a bit earlier than I did last week because I need to have breakfast before I go to church. I almost passed out at church and I think it was because I didn't have a good enough breakfast. I will fix that tomorrow morning. As much as I don't like eating right away when I get up, I will need to do this on Sundays so that my tummy is full and no chance of lightheadedness. That is a bad thing. We are under hot lights so it is important that I eat a good meal. I will stop and get my diet coke to bring to church with me. I won't be singing at the other services because I am teaching lessons tomorrow (make ups) so I will need a nap before teaching.

Because I am so tired, I think I will head for bed rather shortly instead of the usual closer to midnight time. I am thankful I am tired now because then I should have a better sheep tonight than I usually do on a Saturday night.

Choir is going well. Sometimes it is hard to focus on a song when we have been rehearsing it for a while, but mostly his timing for working on songs works well with my hard time to concentrate. I don't have to memorize anything because we use the music. This is a good thing as my memory is not good for memorizing anymore. For the rest of the music we sing with the congregation there are words up on screens so that is a good thing. I usually look at the screen to the left of me because it is easier than the one in front of me. I am looking forward to next week with lessons, Thanksgiving Day, Jennie, Kathy and family. Kathy and I are also going to see "Breaking Dawn" on Saturday late afternoon early evening. I need to watch "Eclipse" first though. I think I may re-watch the first and second Twilight movies and then watch "Eclipse". That would get me ready for the new movie. I wonder if the Muglia girls will ever like "Twilight" books or movies. They haven't seen or read them so I am not sure. They make fun of them every so often and when they do I like to point out to them they haven't read them so how would they know what they are like? I figure next summer I will loan them my Twilight books. They will be 15 and 16 years old at that time so plenty old enough to ready the young adult books. I enjoyed them. They are an easy read. Are they as good as Harry Potter? No, but what is as good. Harry Potter books are amazingly written books and nothing can compare except maybe Anne of Green Gables although Anne's action scenes are way different that Harry's. She also doesn't have the good against evil thing but they are still really good books.

I do hope you are having a good day!

Flu shot day 11-18

2011-11-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

Wow, the nurse (a new one too!) actually got the test done first poke! I was very nervous about this new nurse to try but she did it. I drank extra water last night that I didn't feel too good when I went to bed. I was so waterlogged but I was determined to not go through another try like Wednesday when they couldn't get anything.

I also got the flu shot. They had run out on Wednesday so I would have had to go back and get it today so it really wasn't a big deal to go back, just a big deal of WHY I had to go back. After the doctor's office my gas light went on. I don't usually let my tank get so low that the light goes on but for some reason this time I did! Oh my! I quickly went to the regular station I go too where they pump the gas for free. The gas is the same price as self serve only they pump the gas for me. Sometimes, my legs are so sore that even standing to get gas is hard. Yeah, it is annoying so I try to frequent the gas station that pumps for me. I made it to the station although it was a bit of a drive from the doctor's office but I made it before I ran out. Whew, what a near miss that was.

I then came home and took a nap. I had to get up super early because they only do the tests before 11 am and the only time they had left was before that. I think I slept for about 2 hours but they were broken up because the phone rang and then I woke up too. My bottom was a bit sore from sitting there for so long too. I had left the door open because I was afraid that I wouldn't hear it if anyone knocked. Unfortunately, it gave me a bit more of a nightmare of someone just walking in and hurting me. It was very freaky. I won't do this again. Next time I take a nap in the living room, I will have the front door shut and locked. What can I say? I get nightmares easy.

Acer did really well for his lesson today. I told him he had a green lesson. His school uses colors to describe behavior. It did look at one point that he wasn't going to listen, but in the end he did. Green is the best behavior color and for him, it was good. He did exactly like I asked. He played his song 2 times in a row like he will at the concert and he sang his singing song with an open mouth so we could hear his voice better. Calli did very well as usual. She will have an extra lesson on Sunday to make up for the one she missed a few weeks ago. I am just nervous that she will not be ready but she is almost ready so I think with the addition of Sunday, she will do just fine. I also told her we wouldn't be grocery shopping until December. She was disappointed but she understands. Emily did very well too. I think the new computer program is really helping. Breanna said she likes it and so does her little nephews. I think that is cute. I am happy that the computer game seems to be perking everyone's interest.

I am watching Extreme Makeover, Home Edition. It is a good one. They are building a house for a woman who runs a local soup kitchen. It is a cool episode. I do like this show. I also really like NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, Project Runway, Dance Moms (although it is done for the season) and Law and Order SVU (although I don't always watch this one, it has been known to give me nightmares at times). I watch a lot of HGTV too. I read a bit everyday too. I spend a lot of my time sleeping though. since I have Fibromyalgia, I feel sick everyday, some days more than others but I have a headache every single day, the question always is how bad is it? My tummy also doesn't digest properly. Most people digest their food within 90 minutes of eating. Mine, takes much, much longer. I take some medicine that helps that. I still get tummy upsets and pain a lot. I also have arthritis and asthma. The arthritis is in my lower back, hips, fingers, and feet. It is annoying but generally it is the hips and legs that ache the most. Today, is a normal day, that means that the head hurts but not super bad (like yesterday and the other day), my legs ache if I stand too long or walk too far, and I just don't feel super good, but it isn't extreme today. This is just my normal day. You would never know by looking at me I feel sick and not well. You would never know that I am so exhausted. It is just a normal day for me. I am thankful for these "normal days" when I have them because you never know when you will get a flare. Every day but today I woke with a super bad headache. On one of the days (I don't remember which one) it was one of the worst I have ever had and I thought I would have to go to the ER but then it lessened enough where I could function. I think the hardest thing for me is the lack of concentration skills and memory problems. I have to write things down in my planner or I won't remember. I have to write very specific details too not just general notes. I have gone to the post office without my mail, I have gone to the bank to make a deposit, stood in line only to realize I left the deposit at home because I wrote go to bank but not go to bank and bring deposit. These things are kind of funny now, but at the time when these things happen, it isn't too funny. Mom was a big help too because she helped me keep organized, otherwise, it is hard to think what will happen. I leave my planner out everyday so I know what I am doing next. I look at it all the time. I put it on my computer when I go to bed at night. If I have to get up early, I write why on a post it note and put that note on my clock so when the alarm goes off, I know why I am getting up early and not miss whatever appointment I have.

Anyways, I do hope you are having a good day. I am going to watch some TV and then read.

not the best day 11-17

2011-11-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning with a doozy of a headache. I know all this week I have been waking up with them, but today was the worst! I also had plans for 7 lessons, yes, straight through from 2:15 to 6:00 and then from 6:30 to 7:00. I took my morning medication and some Advil and well, it worked, my head improved enough to teach well. I enjoy my students, but I am exhausted tonight. I am thankful I have that many today but I am also thankful I don't have that many every day. I love my students. I think I say that a lot. Hm, well, it is true. My student, Beth, auditioned for Jekyll and Hyde for her local community theatre. She didn't hear anything back so we thought she didn't get a part. Well, Tuesday she received a message asking why she has missed 2 rehearsals! They had casted her right away but somehow in the shuffle of things, she didn't get notified! I am so glad she is in! She has worked very hard on singing and is at the point where her voice is about to change. It is very exciting when it gets to that point. I am anxious to hear how Tuesday and this coming Saturday went when she has her lesson on Sunday. It is an usual day for her to have a lesson this week, but with parent/teacher conferences, she needed to reschedule her lesson. I am just thankful that we can reschedule instead of cancel lessons. It really is a good thing. Now next Thursday, me 3 online company students will not have lessons, but my other three have rescheduled.

I didn't go to choir practice tonight because I still have a bit of the bad headache. Not like this morning, but I am exhausted and am ready to go to bed shortly. I have to get my blood test tomorrow. I had to reschedule because they couldn't get any blood out of me. It really stinks but I shall pray that tomorrow it will work fine. I also need the flu shot too. As much as I didn't want to have to go back, at least they should have some flu shot left when I go.

I am going to read for a few now. I do hope you are having a good day!

mid week 11-16

2011-11-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

I went to get my blood test this afternoon. I also hoped to get the flu shot. They ran out of the flu shot last night and more was coming in some time today. After 3 pokes, the nurse still could not get my blood. That was a big time fail. I have to go back on Friday for another try and I have to be there earlier than usual. Ugh. So yeah, I am so not very happy about that but I have to have the blood test so I will just deal with and and come home to take a nap when I am done. Naps rule in this house, for me anyway.

I woke up before the alarm went off. I think I slept pretty well last night for a change. I was so tired last night when I went to bed that I didn't even read and I am reading a really good book right now. I was a bit tired this afternoon so I thought I would take a nap before Allison's lesson. She was the only lesson today. Natalie will have a make up tomorrow since she couldn't make it tonight. Natalie is such a nice young lady. She sings really nice too. She was having trouble with one of the songs but I have a tape recorder that we will tape us singing it and she can borrow it to practice at home.

I was thinking about my Momma today before the doctor appointment. It has almost been 13 months since she passed away. I was thinking about her last few years. In 2008, after we lost the store, she was still pretty independent and could do lots of stuff for herself. I would not let her be by herself too long though because I was afraid she would get lost. She liked to be with me most of the time. She had been coming to the store with me for the last 2 1/2 years. I didn't mind because she loved being there a lot. After we lost the store, I was deeply upset over it. I had worked so hard only to lose it. I would say that for a few months, I didn't emerge from my room to often except for teaching. Mom could get herself up in the morning and eat breakfast. She would watch the weather channel (for some reason she loved the weather channel) and wait for me to get my lazy butt up. We would go to Tim Horton's for lunch and have a nice time. I would teach a few lessons during the week but mostly we hung out together. Mom and I spent a lot of time at the movies summer of 2009. I think we went to the movies about every week. We saw so many good movies and a few duds. We would also go to Olive Garden at least once a month. Mom and I love that restaurant. It wasn't until about November 2009 that she started being less independent. In December 2009, I had to start gating her up the stairs because she would go out of the house looking for me and get lost. Fortunately, I have really good neighbors and they found Mom right away and brought her back home. Kathy was getting rid of her baby gates but she hadn't yet. I called her to find out where to buy them and how much they might be. She gave me her gates. I drove to and from K-zoo in one day for those. I was glad that I got to keep her and take care of her. So, anyways, I was just thinking about her today a little more than usual. The 18th is coming up and that is a day I dislike since she passed away on the 18th of October. Some days it seems like forever ago that I last saw her and other times it feels like yesterday. It is weird this mourning thing. Some days I feel like I wading through mud that won't let me walk and other days, not so much mud to walk it.

I hope you are having a good day.

NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles Night 11-15

2011-11-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

Tuesdays are good nights for TV for me because my favorite shows are on. I don't watch a whole lot of shows, but I will admit to being crazy about NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles. they are action packed and the good guys always win! Sometimes it is a bit gross with the bodies, but I don't look when it is like that. Since I can't stand the sight of blood, I usually just listen to the scenes that are in the autopsy room. I like how the teams work with each other and the characters are so interesting to me. All in all, I am glad I started watching them even though at first I stuck my nose up in the air with them. I was annoyed because they took the place of JAG for a few weeks and I loved JAG. As a matter of fact, I have all 10 season of JAG. I think because we were an army family that I can identify with the families who have members serving the military. Now, Mom was in the reserves, which I know is a bit different, but it still means we were a military family. While there were definite things I disliked intensely about Mom being in the Army, overall, I was very proud of her. She accomplished a lot and without her and women like her, the women of today would not be at the ranks and jobs that they are in. Mom was a pioneer. She broke glass ceilings. Mom was also very brave and courageous however, she was very shy about talking about her accomplishments. She was a very humble woman. I love that about her (one of a million or so reasons I adored my mother!) Anyways, Mom always said that she was born too soon. I can only imagine what she could accomplish if she was born 40 years later. However, I am rather glad she was born when she was since I would not be me if she wasn't.

Today the tummy is a bit better than yesterday. Most of the time I ignore the pain and the upset tummy. I just go and take my tummy medicine and pain medicine but sometimes it is difficult to ignore such things. Last night was one of them. I think at this point, I am so used to pain that I don't always feel it. I know it is there, but I can ignore it at times unless I get up (then my hips cry and my legs) or I move wrong and it twinges the pain. I think because I don't teach or work full time and I have time to make sure I rest it makes a difference. I don't anticipate actually ever being able to work full time or teach full time again. The last time I tried that I was in and out of the hospital so much that I knew the ER doctors and nurses and they knew me on sight. Not really a recommended thing. I have been in the ER in the last year, but it isn't as much as it used to be so that is good. I have better medicine now, I think, at least for the moment.

Anyways, I am going to make some dinner now. I am going to have pasta and veggies. I forgot to take the chicken out to thaw so no chicken tonight. I don't mind, I like pasta and veggies without meat too.

Try to have a good night!

the Beginning of another week! 11-14

2011-11-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

It is the start of another week! 3 weeks from yesterday will be the Christmas Concert. I am looking forward to it. My girls had their lessons this afternoon. They are pretty much ready for the concert. Lydia and Sarah are very ready. Hannah is almost ready and the same with Natalie. Natalie has one of her songs down pat and almost the second one. Both girls should be as ready as their sisters by the concert. I am pretty certain about that. Bob is almost ready too. Isaac is nervous about the concert so he isn't sure he wants to be in it. I told him to worry about it in two weeks and if still didn't want to do it, he didn't have too. He didn't practice this week so that is what he is worried about. He did pick one piano song and played it pretty well. We talked about looking at practicing a different way. He likes to play the piano and really that is all that practicing is. He was like, good point. So let's hope he plays his piano more this week than last week. He is also doing very well with his vocal songs too. I did let Isaac know that he was learning the Christmas music whether or not he would be in the concert. He said okay no problem. Isaac is such a nice young man. His grandparents live down the street from me so after his lesson he walked down to their house to have dinner with them.

After my lessons, I went to Walmart for some tummy medicine and milk. I also got the Christmas Table Cloth, Christmas cookie cutters, pop, and a few other necessities. I almost walked out without the Mylanta. That would have been bad because my tummy has not been so good these last few days.

I have a new young man tomorrow from the online company. He is 5 and will be starting piano. I am excited about this. This leaves 2 students tomorrow. Charlie has marching band practice tomorrow for the Thanksgiving Day parade. This is his last Thanksgiving Day parade as he is a senior in high school this year. Aaiyanna and Samuel, the new young man, will have their lessons tomorrow. I have to copy some sight reading music for Aaiyanna. I had copied some a few weeks ago, but she has lost them. Now that she has her binder, she can put it in the binder. I do hope that the new CDs I burned for her work. The only other option is to loan her the originals and have her parents burn them on CDs. I don't particularly like loaning original CDs out because if I don't get them back, I have to buy both the book and the CD again.

I haven't started the ornaments for the students yet. I have 3 weeks to do this. I will be starting tomorrow evening after i clear the table so I can start cutting them out. I have to figure out how many I need. I am also going to be making some for Kathy's kids since I am already making some, what is a few more? There is like 4 seams and top stitching for each one. Not too hard for me to make. I have made them before. I just need to get some red fabric paint since the paint I have is not fabric paint and the fabric paint I had is very old, if I even have it anymore, which I sincerely doubt. I am not going to bother to look for it because I think I did get rid of it a while ago. It costs about $1 so I will just pick some up in the next few days. I have the ribbon for the hanging of the ornament and the jingle bells although I am not sure I am going to put the jingle bells on it. We shall see. I will see what looks the best on ornament. I am excited about starting them. I probably should have started them a few weeks ago, but I do know how easy they are to make so I kept procrastinating. I will stop procrastinating this week though since the concert is in one day less than 3 weeks.

I am not feeling super well today. I can't pin point it exactly, I just don't feel too hot. I don't think I am coming down with anything, just the usual fibro feeling bad. Sometimes, fibro sucks at times, well, okay, it sucks all the time if the truth be told.

Despite the not feeling so hot, it was a decent day. I hope yours was good too.

Sunday 11-13

2011-11-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

We are almost in the middle of November. Wow, how quick did this happen. Tomorrow I have my girls, Bob, and Isaac. I am rather exhausted today. I made it to church though! Unfortunately, I didn't eat a good enough breakfast so I started to get light headed with the lights by the time we sang our song right before the sermon. I ended up mouthing some of the words. It was a great song too. I hope no one noticed that I didn't sing near the end. I wasn't sure I would survive at that point. Finally we were done and we could leave the stage for our seats in the congregation. I grabbed my coat and went to sit down. We had a guest minister speaker today. It was missions weekend. He was very interesting and it was a good sermon. I am pretty okay now although I still feel lightheaded at times. I have been having problems with lightheadedness for a good 2 months now. I don't really know why. I have been to the ER about this and there was no conclusive answer. I truly do not believe it is from dehydration because I have since made sure that I am drinking enough water. There are days I feel almost waterlogged from drinking so much water and that doesn't seem like it that good.

I am watching Harry Potter number 4, "Goblet of Fire" and Cedric has just been killed. Ever since Momma passed away I tear up (sometimes even cry) whenever anyone dies whether it is one of my friends' family and friends or even TV and movies. I teared up when Cedric was killed and I have seen this enough to know that it happens. I also have read all the books. Still, anyone dying makes me tear up and sometimes cry. My cousin just lost her father and she wrote today in her face book that it was time to process and move on. It has been one week since her father was killed. When one of my face book friends lost her mother a week later she wrote on face book, time to get back to happiness. I don't understand how they can so easily go back to the way it was. How does one process and move on so fast? Is it because they have families themselves to take care of? I am still processing and moving on. I can't say I am back to happiness. I have better days than I did last year at this time, but there are still days where I miss her so much. Is it because I took care of her and we were together all the time for the last 5 years? I don't know. I just know that a week after I lost Mom, I was still in shock. Maybe they are still and just don't realize it. The mysteries of mourning still confuse me. I get told I am in a depression, yet I don't think I am. Yes, I am sad at times. I say I am in mourning, not a depression as if to mourn in these days and times is a bad thing. I don't think so but in this world it seems at times that mourning is not acceptable, you have to process and move on immediately and not allow yourself to feel the emotions that go with losing a family member or a friend. That is how it seems in my family. I remember calling Richard (back when he would actually speak to me) and I was crying. He was all "you aren't crying are you?" like it was a horrible thing. I quickly stopped and realized that he doesn't feel the same way I do. I thought he did, but he had moved on from missing Mom if he ever missed her at all. I don't think I will ever understand this world that we live in. My friends who have lost their mothers and were close to them says that the second year is easier. So far it is a bit. Last year at this time my chest felt like bricks on it and I don't have that feeling too much anymore. However, I do miss her as much as I first did when she died. I don't know, I certainly can't say I have all the answers.

I am glad that I made it to church after missing it last week. It starts the week off right somehow to me, despite how early I have to get up. I actually didn't yawn during church, just on the way home where I took a nap right after. I slept for about 3 1/2 hours before Beth had her lesson.

I do hope you had a good day.

Another lovely day in November - the weather is beautiful

2011-11-12T13:55:00.000-08:00

It is so nice outside today. Unlike yesterday, which was rather cold, today is more fall like than winter. It is definitely nice and warm. I didn't really need my winter coat on but since I didn't know it was so nice out, I had it on. I love my winter jacket. It was a beautiful Christmas present last year from my dear friends, the Emertons, Lily's family. Camille had her lesson today. Her uncle brought her. She is doing so well and I think when we are done with this level, we may switch to something different. I am still not sure though. She is doing so well with switching her hands around that I fear that the level 2 book will be too easy for her. We shall see. She is such a lovely young lady. Last Tuesday was her middle sister's birthday, she turned 5 and this Tuesday will be the youngest sister's birthday, she turns 4. Camille is the oldest.

Not too much going on today. Some weird pains on and off in my back and my chest. I am not sure why but it comes and goes so I am not too worried at this point about it. I am rather exhausted this afternoon. Much more so than normal. I do hope this means I will sleep better tonight because Church is in the morning! I am ready to sing tomorrow. I love singing in the choir. I can't stand during the music part of the service because my legs ache so much, so I lean on a stool. It is a high stool so I can't really sit down too well. By the end of the music part my legs are actually usually numb but they wake up quickly when i start walking. I would like a better stool, but this will work for now. Carolyn will not be singing tomorrow because she has been absent from choir practice for a couple of weeks. She has had volleyball games at the same time as practice. It is kind of hard to be in two places at once! I just love Carolyn, she is such a nice young lady. She sings rather well too. It is nice to be in a choir full of good singers. Most of them are very good, which is really nice. It means we can do some harder music and really get some good stuff.

I need to clear off the table today. I plan to move all the music into the living room for now because during Christmas and New Years, I will have it put away and then the living room and the dining room will be beautiful. I also need to go through the boxes of tools behind me and put them in my lovely new tool box that Heather B-T and family gave me. I was so excited since my has long since disappeared along with many of the tools mom and I had. It is quite frustrating to have tools disappear from the furnace room and garage. These tools will stay for a long while since I am in charge now. This being responsible and being a grown up can be hard work! I really want the new Harry Potter movie but I cannot get it until the monthly bills are paid. It is so tempting to go and charge it but I won't. The credit cards are for emergency only and that is how they should be for me. I have used them a bit and discovered I was using them a bit too much because they were in my wallet so I took them out. Now, I don't have the temptation. I am thankful for that!

I do need to go to the music store Monday or Tuesday for my new little guy on Tuesday. He is scheduled the one lesson but then the rest are unscheduled, which is weird to me. Is he going to change his time every week? Or is this a trial lesson to see if he likes it? Either way, I will teach the lesson and we shall see how the little guy does. I only have a couple of lessons on Monday this week, Bob and Isaac. I don't think I have the girls this week but I shall find out shortly. I have messaged them to find out. I know Laura has it on the calendar. So whenever she has me scheduled works for me! I just love my girls. Well, truth be know, I love all my students. I have the best. I may not have as many as I used too (oh my goodness! I wouldn't be able to do that) but I have really good ones now.

I do hope you are having a good day. I hope this random pain goes away. It comes and goes whenever and I have had it since yesterday. The joys of fibro! My hands aren't are sore as they were yesterday as it is nicer out right now! Enjoy your day!

Veterans Day, Remembrance Day

2011-11-11T18:23:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl, my biggest fear was that the USA and Canada would get in a war and we would be put in a concentration camp. I had just learned about them in history and was so stunned that people would treat others this way. My mother served in the Canadian Army Reserves. She was a major, but we live over in USA so she would go across the border every week two and three times to go to the reserves. I would cry and be upset after she left. After a few weeks of this our babysitter told Mom about this so Mom asked me what was wrong. I told her about my fears. She calmly explained that would never happen as both countries are allies and friends. My mom also explained to me that she was a teacher so she would never go where the fighting would be. She would just train them, not fight with them. It makes me think about the families who have members fighting. I know what my fear was like, I can't even imagine what their everyday is like, especially the children. How do you explain something like this to your children? How? I think about this a lot, not just on days like today that are set aside to honor them. They deserve more than that because if it wasn't for our soldiers, both past and present, we would not be able to have the freedom that we have. Many of us live in countries that are free and we have no idea what it is like to live in countries that you have no freedom. I can't even imagine living somewhere where you can't say what you want or do what you want. We can go to the store and buy whatever we want. Most of the time, we have enough food, shelter, and clothes. Can you imagine those that live in countries where there are food lines and when you finally get in the store, there is no food left? I can't. I can't imagine living in a country where women are not allowed to drive, vote, be in company in public of men without their husbands or father, where girls are not allowed to go to school? It completely baffles me about these things. How can people treat people they way they do? Yes, in this country there are people who are not nice and treat others poorly. We have choices and rights that so many don't have. I have always been proud of the country I was born in and the country I was raised in, however, I am more American than Canadian. We were raised to be American. We went to American Schools and lived there. Mom wanted us to know about both countries, the one of our birth and the one we were raised in. I decided when I was 18 not to become an American not because I don't love the USA, I do but because I wanted my children to be the first Americans in our family. To me, that was the American Dream, coming from another country and having your children be the first Americans. I have since changed my mind. I want to be able to vote. Yes, I also have made this decision because I can't have children so they won't be the first Americans, but the right to vote has been a dream of mine for several years now. I am working on saving the money to pay the fees. (It is now really expensive to become an American, about $400 plus other fees.) In a few years, I will be an American. It will be an exciting day when that happens.

We should be thankful for those who serve our countries everyday, not just on days designated to remembering or honoring them. I know I am. My mother ended up serving 31 years. I have always been proud of my Mom being in the Armed Service (even when we had to wait for what seemed like hours for her to get out of the officers' mess after parades or special events). She joined the Air Force at 18 and then when her time was up she joined the Army Reserves. We were an Army family. At times, it seems like we still are.

Choir Practice Day

2011-11-10T19:44:00.000-08:00

Thursday is choir practice. I am getting my own folder number next week! I have the new person number right now so I get my own number now. It is a cool thing. We worked really hard tonight on 3 pieces that we are going to sing in the next three weeks. The choir stood quite a bit of the time. I don't because I can't stand very long. In church I sit on a stool because I can't stand for all that time. I don't think I could even stand long enough to sing the song. It just hurts to much.

My bad headache that I have had most of the day is a bit better, but not too much yet. I do hope that by morning it is down to its normal headache. I am not as tired as usual right now but I am sure shortly I will be. I tried to take a nap this evening because I was so tired, but I couldn't sleep. This was in between teaching and choir. I had my three B's today: Breanna, Brianne, and Brooke. All 3 are doing so well. Brooke has one of her Christmas songs almost down pat and close to the second. Brianne is struggling a bit with hers. We may have to edit her songs a bit. Both are 4 pages and difficult left hands. We will see how she is doing next week. We have reschedule Brianne and Brooke's lessons for Thanksgiving Day. Breanna is checking her schedule for a reschedule that week too. Breanna has switched one of her vocal pieces for Christmas. She is trying to learn the guitar part but we have a CD if she doesn't. Her piano is doing very well today. I loaned her the new theory game CD for the computer. She and I tried it while she was here for her lesson. She loved it. Breanna also thinks her nephews are going to like it too. I think so. They always want to be with her and do what she is doing. Breanna got a new piano this past weekend. She got a Yamaha baby grand piano. It is beautiful and she loves it. I would too but there is no room in my living room for a baby grand. I like the pianos that I have so I am satisfied. I am glad she loves it and wants to practice more. She is a good musician.

I have not cleared the table like I wanted to this week. Hayley is supposed to stop by tomorrow before I go to tea with Wendy. I am so glad to see Hayley, but I also am glad to see Wendy. Then I will have a couple of lessons before resting for the rest of the night. I only have Camille on Saturday and Beth on Sunday after the after church nap. I am going to use Sunday and Saturday for resting a lot since I have been so extra tired this week. I will also do a bit of housework. I have to clean the bathrooms. That doesn't take too long and I rest in between the bathrooms. I did part of the downstairs bathroom this evening. I will do the other part on Saturday and the other bathroom then too. I will clear the music off the dining room table on Sunday now that I don't need it anymore. I will put the original CDs in the living room so I will have them when I make the CD for the concert. This makes it easier for Bill who runs the sound.

I am watching Project Accessory and it is kind of interesting. Some of the designs these people come up is crazy, simply crazy. I wouldn't wear most of them. This one model's hair was so insane. It was a mohawk type thing. Who would wear their hair like that. One has a belt on the model hung down between her legs. It was insane. Just simply insane. There are some that are nice.

Wednesday 11-9-11

2011-11-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

2 more days until Harry Potter comes out on DVD! Yes, this IS cause for celebration! It really is! I, personally, can't wait. I know, I know, many of you are shaking your head, you already knew this. I can't wait to see it again with seeing number 7 part 1 right before it. That is the plan for Friday, as long as everything works out well.

I met Jennie for lunch today at Applebee's. It was so much fun. I got to read some of the stuff that people wrote at the reunion. The memory papers were great! We chatted for about 2 hours before we had to leave. It was also cool because Jennie's husband, Bill gave her a gift card for Applebee's so that paid our lunch. Talk about generous! It was just a nice lunch. I was late for it though. I knew yesterday I needed to get gas. I planned to get the gas after Aaiynna's lesson. Somehow it slipped my mind. I also didn't plan to get up early enough to get gas and be on time so I was late by about 10 or so minutes. I had run out of the house without my coat too so while getting gas, I froze and got wet since it was raining! Not how I planned to arrive! I will plan better next time!

After lunch, I came home and took a bit of a rest in the living room before Rachel's lesson. I was a bit tired so I figured it was a good time to take a bit of a rest so I went in the living room and propped up my feet on the stool. I slept for about an hour. Rachel arrived for her lesson and she is doing so well with her Christmas Songs. She did picked out 2 more for fun. We immediately went into the dining room to copy the music for her. She then went and got 2 of the page savers then put the new music in them. She giggled when we discussed the hand position. Rachel is learning several new hand positions and is really doing very well. I love when she giggles though. Children have the sweetest giggles and Rachel is no exception. Her giggle just send happiness to my soul so to hear the giggle at the new hand positions. Allison had her lesson right after. She was early, which was perfectly fine for me. Allison is also doing very well with her Christmas music. I remembered to copy her second page of sight reading just in time for her lesson. Allison is doing very well with her Christmas music too. Her voice is getting ready to change and I can hear it. It is exciting when the voice changes, it really is.

I have a bit of a bad headache this evening. I took some pain meds so I am hoping it will go down to the normal headache. With the rain and the changing of the weather, it is not surprising that I ache a bit more than normal and have a bigger headache tonight. I just hope it goes back to the normal pain by bedtime or morning.

Despite the extra pain this afternoon, it was a good day. I hope yours was too.